STANDISH, ME – SJC softball skipper Jamie Smyth '92 has been selected by his peers as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Coach of the Year.
Coach Smyth, now in his 15th season at the helm for the Monks, has guided the Royal Blue to a 33-7 (.825) overall record and a 23-3 (.885) mark in GNAC play this spring. St. Joe's earned the program's second NCAA Tournament berth in as many years when the team defeated Emerson College in the GNAC Championship game by a 6-2 score at Gordon College on Sunday afternoon.
For Smyth, the Coach of the Year honor is the seventh of his career and the second in the last three seasons. The winningest coach in program history with a 355-243 (.594) career record, Smyth is one of just four coaches in the history of SJC Athletics to record at 350 victories in their career. Others to have reached the plateau: baseball Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 (539-293-5, .648), former men's basketball coach Rick Simonds (504-187, .729), and women's basketball Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 (456-178, .719).
Coach Smyth has led the Monks to unprecedented success in GNAC play, as the team has posted an extraordinary 102-22 (.823) record versus conference opponents since joining the league in 2008. Saint Joseph's has appeared in the GNAC Tournament all five seasons and has served as a first-round host in each of the past four years.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
