Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Savoie's championship experience guiding golfers
4/11/2017 7:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Senior leads team in scoring average
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – May 21, 2016, was a beautiful spring day at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver, Colorado. The temperature rose to 83 degrees with a breeze out of the south and bright blue skies – the perfect day for golf.
On the course that day, Joey Savoie was trying to take down Lee Gearhart of Chico State in the NCAA Division II championship match play final round to give his Saint Leo Lions their first team title. His teammate, freshman Hugo Bernard, had already won the individual crown.
Savoie remembers leading Gearhart by two strokes with five holes left when he started to look around and realize the position he was in. He was just five holes away from giving his team a 2-1 match play advantage, which would put them one win from a team victory with two of his teammates left on the course.
That's when things went in the direction the wind was coming from: south.
"I just lost focus," Savoie said.
He made a few mistakes and saw his lead disappear with three holes remaining. He finished 3-over and lost his match by three strokes. But, thankfully for Savoie, the Lions came out with the team victory by a 3-2 overall score when Bernard and Griffin Clark beat both of their opponents.
"I was just relieved we won, at that point," he remembered.
Little did Savoie know at the time that it would be his last match ever played for Saint Leo. After back-to-back NCAA championship appearances and the school's first-ever team national title, plus two individual top-12 performances that landed him two PING All-American honors, he chose to transfer in order to find bigger tournaments and better competition in Division I.
He just hoped the lessons he learned from that weekend in Denver, most notably in the final round of team match play, would carry over to wherever he chose to play his senior year.
"It goes by so quick that you can lose focus in a heartbeat," Savoie said. "How to manage my stress was something I learned that day. You have to keep your mind up so you can focus better."
Once he made the choice to pursue Division I golf, the only other decision to be made was where to go.
Savoie had carved out quite a comfortable college life at Saint Leo, located about 35 miles north of Tampa, Florida, so deciding where to spend his final year of eligibility was tough. Luckily, he had some help from Middle Tennessee head coach Brennan Webb.
Webb and Savoie were no strangers. While an assistant coach at South Florida in 2010-2011, Webb recruited Savoie when he was still in high school and eventually helped the youngster get to Saint Leo, where a friend of Webb's had taken over the head coaching job.
That bond they had already planted picked up rapidly when Savoie made known his intentions to transfer after last season. Bringing him to MT was a no-brainer for both sides – Webb got to add a member of a national championship team while Savoie got to fulfill his goal of playing Division I.
Plus, both are Canadian and share a connection through their home country, although they root for different hockey teams.
"It doesn't hurt, although he cheers for the Montreal Canadiens and I'm not a big fan of that. That hurts a bit," Webb said. "He's perfect other than the hockey team he supports."
So far this season, it's been a match made in heaven both for Savoie and the team.
His on-the-course productivity speaks for itself – he leads MT with a 71.56 scoring average and ranks 21st in the nation in par-3 average (3.03) and tied for 33rd in birdies (103). But, it's Savoie's leadership, especially recently, that has grabbed the attention of his head coach.
The senior was the driving force behind the Blue Raiders' fifth-place finish (9-under) recently in the tough Mason Rudolph Championship that included five teams that are ranked or receiving votes. Savoie was the low man for the blue and white, tying for third with a season-best 8-under 205 that included a season-low 66 in the final round. His 205 three-round score is tied for fourth all-time at MT.
"He's been through this before. He knows what this time of year is all about," Webb said. "He doesn't want this opportunity to go by, so he's picked up his leadership here lately, and that's made a difference for us, for sure."
With the Conference USA championship on the horizon April 23-25, Savoie is hoping the Blue Raiders can continue their momentum into their first conference title since taking home the Sun Belt crown in 2009.
He thinks they still have plenty of room to improve, which could prove scary for other C-USA teams.
"I don't believe we've played close to our potential, because we haven't had our top five guys playing well at the same time yet. That's really encouraging," he said.
Even if Middle Tennessee can't continue its upward trajectory into the C-USA tournament, NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships, Savoie has found a home in Murfreesboro he will never forget.
The camaraderie he's found around the community toward its university's sports, no matter if it is in basketball, football, golf or any other sport, is something he's never experienced before.
"That spirit in the city is really fun," he said.
Now, as the Blue Raiders come down the home stretch of its season, it's time to see if Savoie learned his lesson last May and can keep his focus during the tough times. If he can, MT could be in for something special on the golf course.
On the course that day, Joey Savoie was trying to take down Lee Gearhart of Chico State in the NCAA Division II championship match play final round to give his Saint Leo Lions their first team title. His teammate, freshman Hugo Bernard, had already won the individual crown.
Savoie remembers leading Gearhart by two strokes with five holes left when he started to look around and realize the position he was in. He was just five holes away from giving his team a 2-1 match play advantage, which would put them one win from a team victory with two of his teammates left on the course.
That's when things went in the direction the wind was coming from: south.
"I just lost focus," Savoie said.
He made a few mistakes and saw his lead disappear with three holes remaining. He finished 3-over and lost his match by three strokes. But, thankfully for Savoie, the Lions came out with the team victory by a 3-2 overall score when Bernard and Griffin Clark beat both of their opponents.
"I was just relieved we won, at that point," he remembered.
Little did Savoie know at the time that it would be his last match ever played for Saint Leo. After back-to-back NCAA championship appearances and the school's first-ever team national title, plus two individual top-12 performances that landed him two PING All-American honors, he chose to transfer in order to find bigger tournaments and better competition in Division I.
He just hoped the lessons he learned from that weekend in Denver, most notably in the final round of team match play, would carry over to wherever he chose to play his senior year.
"It goes by so quick that you can lose focus in a heartbeat," Savoie said. "How to manage my stress was something I learned that day. You have to keep your mind up so you can focus better."
Once he made the choice to pursue Division I golf, the only other decision to be made was where to go.
Savoie had carved out quite a comfortable college life at Saint Leo, located about 35 miles north of Tampa, Florida, so deciding where to spend his final year of eligibility was tough. Luckily, he had some help from Middle Tennessee head coach Brennan Webb.
Webb and Savoie were no strangers. While an assistant coach at South Florida in 2010-2011, Webb recruited Savoie when he was still in high school and eventually helped the youngster get to Saint Leo, where a friend of Webb's had taken over the head coaching job.
That bond they had already planted picked up rapidly when Savoie made known his intentions to transfer after last season. Bringing him to MT was a no-brainer for both sides – Webb got to add a member of a national championship team while Savoie got to fulfill his goal of playing Division I.
Plus, both are Canadian and share a connection through their home country, although they root for different hockey teams.
"It doesn't hurt, although he cheers for the Montreal Canadiens and I'm not a big fan of that. That hurts a bit," Webb said. "He's perfect other than the hockey team he supports."
So far this season, it's been a match made in heaven both for Savoie and the team.
His on-the-course productivity speaks for itself – he leads MT with a 71.56 scoring average and ranks 21st in the nation in par-3 average (3.03) and tied for 33rd in birdies (103). But, it's Savoie's leadership, especially recently, that has grabbed the attention of his head coach.
The senior was the driving force behind the Blue Raiders' fifth-place finish (9-under) recently in the tough Mason Rudolph Championship that included five teams that are ranked or receiving votes. Savoie was the low man for the blue and white, tying for third with a season-best 8-under 205 that included a season-low 66 in the final round. His 205 three-round score is tied for fourth all-time at MT.
"He's been through this before. He knows what this time of year is all about," Webb said. "He doesn't want this opportunity to go by, so he's picked up his leadership here lately, and that's made a difference for us, for sure."
With the Conference USA championship on the horizon April 23-25, Savoie is hoping the Blue Raiders can continue their momentum into their first conference title since taking home the Sun Belt crown in 2009.
He thinks they still have plenty of room to improve, which could prove scary for other C-USA teams.
"I don't believe we've played close to our potential, because we haven't had our top five guys playing well at the same time yet. That's really encouraging," he said.
Even if Middle Tennessee can't continue its upward trajectory into the C-USA tournament, NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships, Savoie has found a home in Murfreesboro he will never forget.
The camaraderie he's found around the community toward its university's sports, no matter if it is in basketball, football, golf or any other sport, is something he's never experienced before.
"That spirit in the city is really fun," he said.
Now, as the Blue Raiders come down the home stretch of its season, it's time to see if Savoie learned his lesson last May and can keep his focus during the tough times. If he can, MT could be in for something special on the golf course.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
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