Men's Golf: O'Reilly Leads Vikings Back To Nationals
Jose Rodriguez '24 | Staff Writer
SALEM, Mass. -- Head coach Jimmy O'Reilly '98 is set to lead the Salem State Vikings to the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship at the Keene Trace Golf Club, in Nicholasville, Kentucky next week. O'Reilly a former four-year captain at Salem State from 1994 to 1998, who was named head coach in 2021, has taken Salem State to the national tournament in each of his first two seasons.
2023 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships
May 16-19 at Keene Trace Golf Club, in Nicholasville, Kentucky
A total of 221 participants will compete at the 2023 championship. Thirty-four conferences were awarded an automatic qualification for the championships. One team was selected from Pool B, which consists of independent institutions and institutions that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. The final eight berths were reserved for Pool C, which are institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B teams. The six individuals are selected from the remaining players who have not qualified with a team.
Salem State Lineup (Avg.)
Ethan Doyle (78)
Danny DiLisio (79)
Henry Stonehouse (79)
Colin Richmond (81)
Ryan O'Leary (83)
Team (315)
The second-year coach talked about the differences between last year's tournament team and this year's MASCAC championship squad. "Each year takes on it's own identity. We only have two guys that participated in last year's NCAA Championship in Florida. Last year it was a new experience for everyone in our lineup. Our guys who have been there have done a tremendous job of letting the new guys know what to expect throughout the week."
"Everything about the week has a different feel," he said. "You drive through the gates of the property and see all the school flags. Your team has its own spot on the range with your school name. Things we don't see week in and week out at events," He also added, "We have tremendous confidence in our guys. The goal is to get better each week and they have done that. We shot our lowest round this year (301) since I have been the coach.
O'Reilly feels his team is well prepared to handle the unique conditions of the course. "This golf course hosts the Barbasol Championship on the PGA Tour. Its a big golf course. The rough will be long, the greens will be fast, and the fairways will run out fast in certain spots. I think once we get there and get our prep in and see the course, we feel the guys will do well. They tend to play their best golf on bigger more difficult golf courses, similar to courses we practice on like Kernwood CC, Salem CC, and Tedesco CC."
Coach O'Reilly was named the MASCAC Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons. "It's an honor to be recognized by your peers, but any coach will tell you great players make great coaches," he said. "I am so fortunate to have the players we have. I can't hit any shots for our guys. As a coaching staff, all we can do is make sure they are prepared with a game plan for each tournament and every golf course we play. Our players talent and self-belief takes care of the rest."
Coach O'Reilly and his team suffered a tough blow by losing MASCAC Player of the Year Brian Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) who graduated in December. "Brian gave everything he had to our program for the year and a half we were fortunate enough to have him. I have been part of SSU Golf for 30 years, and Brian is as good as any player we have had come through Salem State. In his time here he led our team in stroke average and wins." "He was MASCAC Player of the Year and individual champion. If Brian was here for four years, he would have found himself as an All-American and in the Hall of Fame at SSU. With all that being said, we love our roster and have another player on our team who could accomplish all the same things. Our current lineup that is competing at Nationals is young, deep, and getting better, which is scary to think about. Great players make great coaches,"
Coach O'Reilly talked about one of the players that is making an impact on the golf team, captain Ethan Doyle. "Ethan was the MASCAC Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and individual champion as a freshman." "Ethan has been every bit as good as Brian and I have been so fortunate as a coach to pencil them into the 1 & 2 positions every week for the last two years. Ethan will have four years with us, and I believe he will be an All-American if we continue to make Nationals every year."
The remaining lineup includes, Danny DiLisio, Colin Richmond, Ryan O'Leary, James Dragonetti and Henry Stonehouse, who make up a strong core of young Salem State golfers.
"Danny DiLisio is a sophomore and was 2nd team All MASCAC this year. He is super talented and a great leader for us. Danny checks every box from a talent perspective. Power, ball speed, tempo and he is a fantastic putter. Henry Stonehouse is a freshman, who has started every tournament since he stepped on campus in the fall. Henry has every tool and gets better every week, which is pretty scary to think about. Colin Richmond transferred in from Western New England where he was in the #1 slot as a freshman. He has stepped in and helped us." "Another player who has stepped into our lineup and is a very talented player, Ryan O'Leary, who was a 2nd team All-MASCAC selection. His play at MASCAC's was huge for us. Ryan hits the ball hard and is still scratching the surface on how good he can be. Jimmy Dragonetti has been in our lineup a few times as a freshman. He is so tough and unflappable. He doesn't get rattled and fights on every shot. He keeps our team loose with his positive attitude and his humor. Jimmy is going to do big things in his time as a Viking," O'Reilly said."
Doyle, who is currently a sophomore and majoring in Business, is a Salem native, who is looking forward to this year's tournament "I am very excited to prepare for Nationals. I am looking forward to seeing how we can do as a team." He explained how challenging it is to win a tournament "It is very difficult to win a tournament, mentally and physically it is difficult competing in very good fields with some really good teams and some of the best players around," he said.
Doyle, who has been playing golf for as long as he can remember, says it runs in the family, thanks to his dad's interest in golf. "I have been playing golf ever since I was a child growing up on a golf courses with my dad, who is the Salem High School golf coach, I became obsessed with golf and have been playing ever since."
Doyle talked about his inspiration and who inspired him to play the game. "The person who inspired me to play golf was my father, who is my hero and always pushed me to be better as a golfer and a person. Being a Salem State athlete is something special and assistant coach Kevin Daly, who was one of the best golfers to attend Salem State, is always supportive, and I find myself looking to him for guidance and advice throughout the year."
Stonehouse, a Belmont native, is playing in his first tournament with the Vikings. "It's super exciting. We all can't wait. It's going to be a great experience and so much fun on top of it. College golf is a challenge, and there are a lot of really good teams. It's going to take all of our best to compete."
Stonehouse is grateful because of his dad. "My Dad was the person who really got me into golf. I'm very thankful for it. Golf has given me a lot."
Daniel DiLisio, a sophomore from Swampscott is looking forward to his first trip to the NCAA's. "It's exciting to be in the field for the first time. I can't wait, we've all been itching to play." He has been golfing since he was five years old, but in a competitive environment, and has been competing for the last three to four years.
His passion for golf is because his grandfather. "My grandfather was the one who originally got me into the sport (be)cause he owned a golf range so I went there every day and he taught me the basics of sport, I'm forever grateful for him. More recently my dad and uncle David got me back into the sport, pushing me every day to be better but also teaching me as I go. A player that I look up to is Justin Thomas, he's my favorite golfer and I just love his game, he's a true competitor and always keeps it real through everything good and bad,"
Coach O'Reilly discussed how his team will prepare for the NCAA's. "We don't necessarily prepare differently because we always prepare to win, but our practice sessions will get tougher with the courses we prepare on and the tournaments we participate in," he said. "Everything we do throughout our season is based off of the expectation we will be at the NCAA Championship. We play a brutally tough schedule against some of the best teams in the country week in and week out. We do it with the mindset that it will be the same type of talent and firepower we will see at Nationals. Our schedule makes our guys better."
On what makes golf such a challenging sport. "Physically, golf to me is one of the only sports you can never have a perfect game or perfect stats. You would have to shoot 18- under par and it will never happen. Maybe other than hitting a round baseball with a round bat at 90+ MPH, it is the hardest thing to do in sports," coach O'Reilly said. "The timing you need to have every part of your body in the correct spot at the moment your club makes impact with the with ball takes years and years to do it at an extremely high level. Then to be able to control your flight on top of that is even harder. It takes amazing hand and eye coordination. From a mental aspect it is even tougher. Golf is 90-10. 90% mental and 10% physical. You are never in the same setting. No physical surface is the same. Every fairway is different. Every green is different. Every bunker is different, Every lie is different. This game can wear on you mentally. The elements and conditions this game presents you with, you need to have a short memory to be successful. If you let bad holes or bad shots carry with you shot after shot and hole after hole, this sport will shred your confidence in a hurry,"
Coach O'Reilly explained to me why chose Salem State as a player. "I had committed to a Division II school down south before I knew about Salem State. I received a call from Jim Todd, the coach at Salem State and, who is still one of my greatest mentors and friends in the world, and that changed my life forever," he said. "He is the reason I am coaching today. He told me about the program and its history and invited me for a visit. He took me into the office of the greatest Division III coach of all time, George Jacobson. Coach "Jake" said if you want to go play in tournaments for another school that's fine, but if you want a chance to play for NCAA Championships and a chance to be an All-American you can come here. He then showed me all the trophies and All-American plaques. He was also a professor and he sat me down and we talked about my goals and what I wanted to do. At that time I wanted to be a teacher and a coach and we talked about the teaching curriculum program. I was sold."
"When I was a student-athlete at Salem State we were a top-ten team in the country every year. I played with three SSU Hall of Famers. Arguably the best player ever in Jay Ruschioni who, was a four-time All-American and the all-time wins leader at SSU. Mike Chizauskas who was a two-time All-American, and won three times. Gary Scanlon, my roommate, was an All-American and led Nationals through two rounds in Ohio my junior year and his senior year. All three taught me how to prepare for tournaments and how to be successful in the classroom and on the golf course. They taught me time management skills. I don't think if they were in the program when I came in as a freshman I would have had the success I did without their guidance and leadership. They set the tone for our program during practice and how to act representing Salem State and that the tradition of the program is greater than any individual player. It was the honor of a lifetime to play with them."