Sept. 9, 2004
By Tim Musachio
Staff Writer

The Men’s Golf team finished off a dream season last year by placing third at the NAIA Golf National Championships in Olathe, Kansas. It was the highest the squad has finished since they placed sixth in 1994. It was also the highest any St. Ambrose team has finished in national competition. The Bees qualified for the Nationals last May by winning their regional tournament this past October.

“Last year was the best season we’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot of good teams here,” SAU head coach Jeff Griebel said.

Entering his twenty-third year as head coach, Griebel knows about winning teams. He has coached in the National Tournament 18 of the last 22 years since he took over the reigns in 1982. Last year was no exception. The Bees won 13 tournament events which set a new school record, highlighted by their victory at the Western Illinois tournament and finishing second at the Illinois State tournament. Both events contained a majority of Division 1 schools. The Bees triumphed over 24 Division 1 schools throughout the year’s tournaments.

“Last year was just a real team effort,” Griebel said
This year the Bees have four returning players from last year’s national team. Senior Joe Demory was a major part of last year’s accomplishments. Not only contributing to the team’s success, Demory had a great individual season.

“Joe had one of the best individual seasons that I’ve ever seen a player have,” Greibel said.
Demory set a school record for individual season scoring averaging 71.8 per round. Joe also won the Illinois State Tournament as well as two others. He was named 1st team All-Conference and NAIA 1st team All-American. He was also named second team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America; Ping All-American, becoming the first Bee in history to claim that honor.

The senior from Sterling, Ill. feels confident about this year’s team as well as his own game.
“We’re ready to step it up, go back to Nationals and compete for a National Title,” Demory said. “I feel comfortable with my game. I think it’s where it should be.”

Senior Tim Puetz was named to the All-Conference team last year averaging a score of 73. Also returning from last year’s National team are senior Sunil Taneja from Peoria, Ill. and Junior Bryan Lemkau from Muscatine, Iowa. Other seniors back for the fall include Craig McConville, Cody Flatt and Jason McGrane.

This year the Bees also added a lot of depth to an already national championship caliber team. Sophomore Jimmy Marinelli from Byron, Ill. transferred from Winthrop University, a Division 1 school in South Carolina. Marinelli was originally recruited by St. Ambrose out of high school and joins the program this fall.

Freshman Tim Harrigan from Oak Lawn, Ill. is another golfer already making an impact. Harrigan averaged a freshman low 73 for the team’s qualifying tournament. Harrigan was last year’s Chicago Catholic League Player of the Year at Brother Rice.

Coach Griebel feels that the fall is the most important season, because it will be then that the Bees try to repeat as Regional Champs and earn an automatic bid to Nationals in the spring.

Next to Regionals the biggest event this fall is the Ferguson/All State Classic in Oklahoma City, Okla. on September 26-28. Griebel describes this tournament as an NAIA Championship preview with many of the top schools in the country attending. Coach Griebel is very excited about this year’s mix of talent.

“We have a solid nucleus of returning players and a group of new guys that should make this year fun,” Griebel said.

With four returning seniors from last year’s third place finish, St. Ambrose is hoping to make more school history and bring home the schools first team national championship this spring.

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