Men's Golf

Golfers Jernigan, Becker Named All-America Scholars

Chris Becker (pictured) and Sam Jernigan have been named All-America Scholars. (Photo by Robin Johnson)

SAN ANTONIO — Two golfers hung up their St. Mary’s clubs last season but were honored once more, as Sam Jernigan and Chris Becker both received the All-America Scholar award from the Golf Coaches Association of America, it was announced today.

And this is the second-time coming for both, as each also received the award honoring academic success their junior years.  

On par in academics, both former Rattlers have left a mark on the green as well.

Hitting for St. Mary’s all four years of his career, Jernigan quickly became of the Rattlers’ most on-target and celebrated players. He was selected All-Heartland Conference Second Team three times and helped St. Mary’s to a first -place conference finish and 11th-place regional finish his freshman year. Jernigan’s consistency earned him a place in the St. Mary’s record books, as he holds a third-place rank for most rounds played in a career at 120 and is tied for seventh place for most rounds shooting part or better in a career at 22. In his senior year last season, Jernigan teed a scoring average of 75.22 over 10 tournaments and had a season-best second-place finish at the Texoma Chevy Dealers Intercollegiate, which was one of his three top-10 finishes for the season. For his four years, Jernigan held a career scoring average of 75.37.

Making the switch to St. Mary’s his junior year, Becker played two seasons for the Rattlers, finding success in each. In his first season, Becker had four top-25 finishes over 29 rounds, averaging a score of 76.79 over the season’s 10 tournaments. In addition to his first GCAA All-America Scholar award last season, Becker was also selected Academic All-Heartland Conference that earned him a spot on the President’s Honor Roll. In his senior year, Becker helped the Rattlers to a fourth-place Heartland Conference Championship Tournament Finish with a 13th-place individual finish. He improved his record in his final year, swinging at an average of 76.41 over 27 rounds with three rounds on par or better. During his two-year career as a Rattler, Becker had 56 rounds with a career scoring average of 76.61.

With this year’s GCAA All-America Scholar award, Jernigan and Becker become the fourth and fifth Rattlers in program history to win the award twice.

St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men’s basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men’s golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men’s golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary’s also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary’s student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.

    

Coaching Staff

Head Coach Wes Skidmore

Wes Skidmore enters his 11th season as head coach of the St. Mary's men's golf program and his seventh as the coach of the Rattlers' women's team.

Cultivating an environment where classroom success is as important as a good day on the green, Skidmore has brought unprecedented success to St. Mary's golf program on and off the course. He has coached seven All-Americans, 39 All-Conference selections and 13 All-America Scholars over the past nine seasons. He has also coached the Rattlers to two national championships, an individual title in 2006 and an academic title in 2009.

During his 10 years at the helm of the men s program, he has led the team to nine straight NCAA South Central Region Tournaments, including a trip in the NCAA Championships during the 2005-2006 season. The Rattlers have placed second or higher in the Heartland Conference Championships in eight of his 10 years, including winning the event in 2004 and 2009.

Two seasons ago, Skidmore helped oversee two of the best golfers to come through the program, Matt Vela and Jeff Rein, in their senior seasons. Vela was named the Heartland Conference Sportsmanship Male Athlete of the Year and the Men's Golfer of the Year, while both golfers were chosen to the PING All-Region Team. In addition, the Rattlers once again qualified as a team for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

The women's team, meanwhile, made great strides in the 2010-2011 season, placing fifth at the Heartland Conference Championship despite playing without a senior on their roster.

In 2009, the Rattlers received their greatest academic honor under Skidmore, when the men were named GCAA Academic National Champions. The team produced a 3.62 grade point average, which was the top mark in NCAA Division II for the 2008-2009 academic year.

During the 2005-2006 academic year, the Rattlers had the best golf season in school history. St. Mary's finished second at the NCAA South Central Region Tournament, qualifying them for the NCAA Championship, where they placed 10th overall. Individually, Jamie Amoretti had the best individual season for a Rattler men's golfer in school history, placing third at the NCAA South Central Region, and then followed that by winning the NCAA Division II National Championship, the first individual national championship in St. Mary's school history. Amoretti was named Heartland Conference Player of the Year and was a second team NCAA Division II All-American.

St. Mary's has won 10 tournament titles during Skidmore's tenure, including a school-record five during the 2003-2004 season. In 2009, the men peaked at the right time and won the Heartland Conference Championship, with Jeff Rein taking medalist honors, while Matt Vela finished second.

During the 2006-2007 year, the men had both Amoretti and KC Lim win individual titles. Lim won three tournament titles and Amoretti won one. Both Lim and Amoretti placed in the top 15 at the South Central Region Tournament, each just missing out on a berth in the NCAA Championship. The Rattlers won one tournament, the Pepsi Crawford-Wade Invitational and took second in the Heartland Conference Championship.

On the women's side, Jessica Harbin became just the second woman in Rattler history to advance to the NCAA Championships as an individual. Harbin won four tournaments, including the Heartland Conference Championship. She finished third at the NCAA West Regional, qualifying her for the NCAA Championship, where she placed 18th overall, the second highest finish for a Rattler woman in school history.

Luke Antonelli was a two-time All-American for Skidmore during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. He qualified for the NCAA Championship as an individual in 2003, placing second at the NCAA South Central Regional, then finishing 10th at the NCAA Championship. Antonelli was a first team All-American in 2004 and an honorable mention selection in 2003.

Prior to his time at St. Mary's, Skidmore worked as a coach and teacher for the Northeast Independent School District for 32 years. He also worked as a coach at St. Gerard's and Gonzales High School.

Skidmore, a former baseball star who was inducted into the St. Mary's Hall of Fame in 1995, was an NAIA All-Region performer on the diamond for St. Mary's University, while playing for the school from 1967-70. He also earned All-Big State Conference honors three times and was an honorable mention All-American. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in physical education. He has two children, Kelby and Kenneth.

Graduate Assistant Coach Jeff Rein

A decorated golfer at St. Mary's, Jeff Rein enters his second year on Wes Skidmore's coaching staff while finishing up his marketing degree.

Rein, a San Antonio native from Central Catholic, has his name etched throughout St. Mary's record book. His scoring average of 72.80 in 2010-2011 was the fourth-best mark in the program's history, and the 65 he shot at the DBU Patriot Invitational on March 27, 2011, was one stroke off the school's best-ever round.

Rein played three seasons for St. Mary's after transferring from Texas Lutheran, and he maintained an impressive 73.41 stroke average over that span. It is the fourth-best career scoring average for a St. Mary's golfer.

Rein won the Heartland Conference individual championship in 2009, when he shot a three-round total of 204 that included a first-round 66. He was named All-South Central Region in 2010 and 2011 by Golf Coaches Association of America, and was also twice honored by GCAA as an All-American Scholar (2010, 2011). He was named All-Heartland Conference all three years with St. Mary's.

Off the course, Rein helped the Rattlers maintain their status as one of the nation's flagship academic programs, helping St. Mary's receive the All-Academic Team award from the GCAA.

2012-13 St. Mary's Men's Golf Team