The Collegian

Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of www.smcgaels.com Red-shirt senior Chadd Cocco is making his return to a very deep squad.

The Saint Mary's golf team looks to have a strong season this year. Last year, the Gaels finished fourth at the West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament. In fact the Gaels had a slight lead going into the final round of the tournament before being overtaken by Pepperdine.

Overall the Gaels won two tournaments and had a third place finish in another. From last year the Gaels return nine players including all five starters from last season. In addition, the Gaels get arguably their top golfer back in senior Chadd Cocco, who red-shirted the 2006-07 season.

Cocco has been named to the WCC First Team in all three years during his time at Saint Mary's, including being named Freshman of the Year in his first collegiate season. In the spring of 2006, Cocco represented Saint Mary's at NCAA Tournament.

While red-shirting, Cocco won the San Francisco City Amateur Classic and also finished third at the 2007 Scratch Players championship beating out 2007 NCAA runner-up Kyle Stanley as well as tying Stanford's Rob Grube who finished third in the 2007 individual NCAA Tournament.

The Gaels also return fellow seniors Mike McRae and Josh Kelley. McRae is coming off a strong junior campaign where he placed third in the Gael record books with a 72.3 stroke average. McRae was named to the WCC first team for the second straight year.

McRae was one of the most consistent golfers for the Gaels posting top 10 finishes in five of the Gaels' 11 tournaments. In addition to that, McRae was the medalist at the USF Triumph tournament.

Josh Kelley played along side McRae in the 2007 season. Kelley's play was instrumental in leading the Gaels to their first victory of the year as Kelley sank a birdie putt on the final hole to give the Gaels the lead and place himself in third place in the tournament.

Kelley has played in every tournament for the Gaels in his three years at Saint Mary's. Kelley was second behind McRae in stroke average in 2007 and will be a vital part of the Gaels' success this year.

Alongside the three, sophomores Rob McRae and Daniel Cone return after having solid freshman seasons. McRae and Cone were instrumental in the Gaels' fourth place finish in the West Coast Conference as they were the top two golfers for the Gaels in the tournament; McRae placed fourth and Cone tied for ninth in the individual tournament.

Rob McRae was named, alongside brother Mike McRae, to the 2007 West Coast Conference first team. Rob McRae scored a 74 average stroke which was best ever for a freshman and third on the team.

Cone was right behind playing in eight of the 11 tournaments for the Gaels. Cone had two top ten finishes. Competing with Cone for the starting line-up is senior Brett Mormann who played in ten tournaments last year.

The Gaels will have tough competition as many of the top players from the West Coast Conference return. Defending champion Pepperdine returns four of their five starters from last season. Loyola Marymount returns its starting line-up including the Player of the Year.

The Gaels started the season yesterday and play the final round today as they host the Saint Mary's Invitational where the 18 team field includes San Francisco, Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount.

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