STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's College Golf team showed marked improvement in 2010 under the guidance of seventh-year Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92.
With an infusion of young talent, St. Joe's improved statistically across the board after a subpar 2009 campaign. When compared to last season, the 2010 team cut over 30 strokes off the team's 36-hole average (678.8) and nearly 20 off the 18-hole average (334.8).
The Monks' roster featured seven new faces this fall, a group led by 2010 GNAC Rookie Golfer of the Year Kevin Richardson '14 (Coventry, CT), who notched four top 10 finishes, seven top 20 efforts, and four sub-80 rounds as a first-year player.
Richardson placed second with a 77 in the John Queenan Memorial, hosted by St. Joe's at Point Sebago Golf Resort on September 21st, and notched All-GNAC honors with a fourth-place finish in the GNAC Championship at the Triggs Memorial Course in Rhode Island at the end of October. With the top rookie card – 162 - at the GNAC's, Richardson became the first Monks' linker to gain conference top-rookie honors.
The future certainly looks promising for Richardson, who was the first SJC golfer since the 2007 season to notch a sub-80 18-hole average (79.5). He also posted the lowest 36-hole average (163.3) recorded by a Monks' golfer in two years.
Several other first-year players blossomed under Smyth's direction in 2010. Jeff Hilton '13 (Limington, ME), Jake Brown '13 (Lewiston, ME) and Ebb Walton '12 (Blue Hill, ME) combined to notch a quintet of top 10 performances and Walton led all players with a 78 card in the first round of the GNAC Championship.
The Monks' best performance of the 2010 campaign came at the UNE Invitational, held at the Dunegrass Country Club in Old Orchard Beach on October 7th. St. Joe's placed third with a 335 team card behind a pair of top-ten finishes from Richardson (6th, 78) and T.J. Garske '12 (Federal Way, WA) (9th, 82) in the annual event.
Saint Joseph's capped the season with a fourth-place finish (688) at the GNAC Championship on October 30th and 31st. Richardson led the Monks, who shaved 21 strokes off last season's score, with a 162 card to place fourth overall, while Walton finished 14th with a 171 card.
The end of the 2010 campaign signaled the end of collegiate golf for senior captain Michael Patrick (Wells, ME). He participated in 21 events and notched six top-20 scores in three years at Saint Joseph's.
