SJC's Jason Riley Tabbed 2021 GNAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications

STANDISH, Maine – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) golf postseason accolades have been revealed and Saint Joseph's College skipper Jason Riley has been selected, by vote of his peers, as the GNAC Coach of the Year.

Riley, now in his third year at the helm for St. Joe's, guided the Monks to their second GNAC Championship in the last five years as the team posted a 646 (330-316) card to claim the 2021-22 title at the New Haven Country Club on October 12th.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's earned the GNAC's automatic qualifier into the 2022 NCAA DIII Tournament, which will be played at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida May 10th through the 13th, 2022.

Three SJC players garnered All-Conference accolades, as freshman Drew Mathieu (Windham, Maine) headlined the Monks' efforts by earning GNAC Player and Rookie of the Year honors after pacing the entire GNAC field with a 159 (81-78) card at the very challenging course. Junior Sean McDonough (Concord, N.H.), who placed third with a 162 (84-78) score, and senior Jake Laplume (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), who was fifth with a 163 (82-81), also claimed All-Conference honors after securing top-five finishes.

In three short years under Coach Riley's watch, the SJC men's golf program has shown considerable growth. In his first season (2019), Saint Joseph's served as the tournament host at the Biddeford-Saco Country Club and the Monks placed third with a 633 score. Due to the pandemic, last year's championship was held in the spring and St. Joe's finished as the runner-up with a 343 single-round card.

This year's team featured the largest recruiting class – five newcomers – in recent memory as each of the Monks' 11 players had the ability to qualify for tournament play each week. The high level of competition within the team led to success on the course, as Saint Joseph's won three tournaments this fall, the most victories in a season since the 2016 squad won six events.

PLAYER/ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Drew Mathieu, SJC 
COACH OF THE YEAR - JASON RILEY, SJC
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - DEAN COLLEGE

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Albertus - Drew Aquaviva
Elms - John Vandal
Emmanuel - Michael Mencio
Dean - Ethan Lessard
SJC - Trevor Flanagan

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –