"There were a lot of talented golfers in the field, so I knew the competition would be very tough," says Goodridge. "Playing four days of competitive golf is difficult against those teams because so many things can happen. I thought I had a good chance to do well in the tournament. It was just a matter of putting everything together and executing every shot."
Goodridge won the title by shooting a five-over 289 for 72 holes, holding off a challenge from John Jennison of Rhodes College to win the event by two strokes. He had a two-over 73 on the final day. It was on that morning that Goodridge took the first half of a final exam in Optics 261, proctored by his head coach Rich Johnson. After 90 minutes of test taking, Goodridge put down his pencil and headed to the course. After winning the title and attending the awards banquet, Goodridge capped what he described as a "full day" by completing the last half of his final exam.
The sophomore has earned All-American honors for two consecutive seasons. He was a Third Team All-American in 2005 and is a First Team All-American in 2006.
He also is Rochester's first individual NCAA Division III national champion in
18 years and the first ever in golf.
"The response was really wonderful from the University, teammates, faculty, and friends," adds Goodridge. "I have received many congratulatory e-mails and phone calls. I am very proud to have achieved this for the University."
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Golfer Wins NCAA Title
NATIONAL CHAMP--Stephen Goodridge '08, pictured above on the final day of play during the NCAA Division III Championship in Lincoln, Neb., won the individual national title and also took home the Jack Nicklaus Award, as the outstanding player in Division III, and the Arnold Palmer Award after earning medalist honors at the championships. Goodridge is the first Yellowjacket to win the national championship in golf. 
alk about multitasking. As if it's not enough to compete for a national golf title, Stephen Goodridge '08 also had to take an optics exam. . . on the same day. The Attica native took it all in stride, and ended up bringing home the top NCAA Division III prize in golf on May 11. He was one of only five individuals nationally invited to play, along with 23 other qualifying teams, at the championship held in Lincoln, Neb.
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