Skyhawks first head coach brings experience of building new programs
EASTON, Mass. (November 16, 2016) – Stonehill College has named Nick Crovetti as the first head coach of its women's golf program, which will begin its first season of competition for the 2017-18 academic year. The announcement was made today by Dean O'Keefe '94, Director of Athletics at the College.
"I am thrilled to welcome Nick Crovetti as the first head coach of our women's golf team," said O'Keefe. "Nick has a proven track record of teaching student-athletes the skills required for academic and athletic success, and his experience will serve us well as Stonehill prepares for its inaugural season next fall."
Crovetti comes to Stonehill after building a Merrimack College women's golf program from scratch over five years to win the first three Northeast-10 Conference Championships in league history over the last three years. The 2015 NE-10 Coach of the Year has overseen a program which has emerged as one of the top women's golf programs in the northeast, with his student-athletes earning individual medalist honors at all three NE-10 Championships, as well as the 2015 NE-10 Rookie of the Year.
"I am honored to be selected as the first women's golf coach at Stonehill College," said Crovetti. "I appreciate the opportunity provided to me by Dean O'Keefe and the entire athletic department. I look forward to building a golf program that will align with the traditions of Stonehill of academic and athletic excellence."
Merrimack has finished in the top 15 of the NCAA East Regional rankings the last five years, advancing two student-athletes to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals and one to the NCAA Championships over his five seasons. Crovetti guided the Warriors to the 2013 ECAC team championship and the program has attracted multiple top 25 teams to their host events in that time.
Crovetti's teams at Merrimack have also performed in the classroom, with two student-athletes receiving the first two Northeast-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards for women's golf in Conference history. He has mentored four Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-Scholar Student-Athletes and Merrimack received the WGCA's Team GPA Award in 2011-12, when the Warriors ranked second with a 3.787 team grade point average.
Crovetti, a 2004 graduate of Central Connecticut State University, is a Certified LPGA Teaching Instructor. He earned his Bachelor of Science in finance at Central Connecticut, where he was also a four-year scholarship member on the Blue Devil's men's golf team, qualifying for the NCAA Division I West Regional in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in that time.
Crovetti earned membership in the PGA of America in 2008, and also received the distinction of being named as a top-50 teacher by U.S. Kids Golf, a national award given annually. He is a member of the Titleist Professional Staff and has held golf professional positions at some of the top clubs in the country including: The Fox Club (Palm City, Fla.), Salem Country Club (Peabody, Mass.), Bellevue Golf Club (Melrose, Mass.) and, most recently, as General Manager/Director of Golf at Beverly Golf and Tennis Club.
Stonehill announced last month that it will become the ninth Northeast-10 Conference member to offer women's golf, joining Adelphi University, American International College, Assumption College, Franklin Pierce University, Le Moyne College, Merrimack College, The College of Saint Rose and Southern New Hampshire University.
Prospective student-athletes interested in competing as a member of Stonehill's varsity women's golf team can contact Stonehill Athletics at athletics@stonehill.edu for further information.
With 20 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. While finishing in the top three of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings for overall athletic performance 12 straight years, the Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first five years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 96% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA two straight years, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for fifth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with 12 Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked third in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs. Stonehill has also been selected as the host of the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships at W.B. Mason Stadium November 18-20.
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