GORHAM, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College golf team led after 18 holes and maintained the advantage through the final 18 to win the USM Fall Classic, which was hosted at Gorham Country Club on Sunday and Monday. The Monks posted a 602 (295-307) team card to top runner-up Southern Maine (618, 299-319) by 16 strokes.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's picks up the program's seventh win this season and extends its tournament winning streak to six.
Junior Michael Caron (Gorham, Maine) registered a 144 (69-75) score to lead the Monks and top the field of 40 golfers for his first medalist honor of the season and seventh of his NCAA career. Caron has posted a 144 card – his career-best 36-hole score – twice in the USM Fall Classic, as the junior standout notched the same number of strokes en route to a runner-up finish in the 2013 event at Gorham Country Club.
The USM Fall Classic victory is a first for the SJC golf program, as the Monks had not placed higher than third in 13 prior appearances in the annual event. Before this year, the team's previous top score in the tourney was 633 (2011. 2013) and St. Joe's finished last with a 682 score in last year's Fall Classic.
For the Monks, freshman Cam Letourneau (Hebron, Maine) and senior Ryan Berard (Millville, Mass.) both handed in 149 cards to finish in a tie for fourth and first-year Adam Hachey (Winthrop, Maine) placed 15th with a 159 (74-85) score. Senior Jason Riley (Dedham, Mass.) added a 166 (82-84) to round out the Monks' quintet.
As for the remaining teams, University of New England finished third (631, 326-305), UMass Dartmouth (639, 316-323) and Nichols College (639, 332- 307) tied for fourth, Bowdoin College was sixth (646, 327-319), and Emmanuel College (664, 336-328) placed seventh. The Huskies second team, Southern Maine Gold, posted a 665 (342-323) effort.
Saint Joseph's resumes play this weekend in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship, hosted by UMass.-Dartmouth at Allendale Country Club in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
