Oct. 2, 2008

As the only senior, what do you hope your experience can do for what is a relatively young team?

As the only senior on the team, I hope that I can lead by example and show these younger guys the pride and commitment that comes with wearing the Brown and White. I learned a lot from the veterans when I was a freshman and sophomore, so I realize how important it is to be a leader for them.

What were your feelings after being selected to the All-Conference team and also earning Academic All-American honors last season?

Making the All-Conference team was a pleasant surprise for me and was a result of all the parts of my game coming together at the right time. However, the Academic All-American recognition was much more rewarding to me because of the three plus years of hard work I have put into my studies. Hopefully, my success on and off the course will continue this year as well.

You've never lost a Little Three and you've yet to lose at the Leo Keenan. What's your favorite memory from those two tournaments?

Winning two Little Three individual tournaments was a great experience for me because not only was it personally satisfying, but also because it helped our team defeat local rivals. However, my favorite memory of these two tournaments was my freshman year of the Leo Keenan. After two days, we were tied with Drexel for the overall championship. We went to a playoff will all five golfers from each team playing the 17th hole to see who would be the winner. Walking down the 17th fairway with the entire team and eventually winning the tournament was one of the most exciting and memorable experiences of my life.

After spending the summer of 2007 qualifying for New York State Men's Amateur, how much did you focus on your game this summer?

This summer I actually spent a lot of time away from golf. I worked full time at an Accounting Internship in Orchard Park, N.Y. which didn't leave much time to work on my game. Not being able to golf everyday was tough at first, but in the end, it made me that much more excited for the SWNY-NWPA Men's Amateur (lost in the Final's) and for the season as well.

Nathan Peck started building off of a strong sophomore season with an 8th place finish at the Navy Invite. What do you expect from him as the season goes along?

I think it would be safe to say that we as a team expect Nate to be a huge part of leading this club. Nate, Chris Stoddard and I all have the experience needed to lead this team to great things this year.

After the team put together an excellent effort in the Little Three Championship, were you able to get a good feel for your new teammates and what they're capable of for the final tournaments of the Fall?

The Little Three is a great example of what our team is capable of. That tournament was just a preview of what good things our team can accomplish when we all "click". Hopefully we will be able to continue feeding of each other's positive energy and have a successful season.

The team had former member Ben Howe as an assistant last year and this year Andy (Whalen) has taken over as head coach. What is it like playing for your former teammates as opposed to Coach Campbell?

Coach Campbell was the biggest reason I chose St. Bonaventure University and I will forever be indebted to him for the lessons and attitude he has taught me. He is a great coach, and it's only fitting that he was able to hand the team off to two class acts in Ben and Andy. Having Ben and Andy as coaches is different in that you look to them as a peer as opposed to an authority figure. The atmosphere is much more relaxed, which in golf isn't an entirely bad thing. Whether it is Coach Campbell, Ben Howe or Andy Whalen, St. Bonaventure Golf has been and will continue to be in good hands.

After winning four straight tournaments in the fall last year, the team seemed to lose a bit of steam in the spring. Do you think the extended break took a little momentum from the team?

The break over the winter makes it next to impossible to carry any momentum from the fall into the spring. The key is to try and regain the momentum and get back on track as fast as possible in the spring. Individually, we may have got back on track but as a team we never "clicked" in the spring last year. Hopefully this year we can learn to feed of each other's momentum and all play well together at our tournaments.

The team carded a deceptive sixth place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championship last year as the second place club finished only 9 strokes in front. With a much younger team, what do you expect to accomplish at the A-10s this season?

Last year's finish at the Atlantic 10 Championship was a bit of a disappointment in the fact that we were so close to finishing a lot higher in the standings. This year with the Championship being at a new course and Charlotte losing a few of their top golfers, being in contention to win is a realistic possibility. With a lot of heart, hard work and dedication over the next eight months, we will be able to put ourselves in a position to contend for the Atlantic 10 Championship and an NCAA berth.