St. John's to Host Annual Doc Gimmler April 17-18

The winner of three-straight team titles, the St. John's men's golf team will look to carry that momentum into its home event this weekend, as the Johnnies host The Doc Gimmler on April 17-18.

The annual event, that usually occurs in September, will take place this weekend. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at the Bethpage State Park Red Course, with 36 holes being played on Saturday and the final 18 on Sunday. The first round of play will begin at 8 a.m. on the 7,092-yard, par-70 track.

"We can't thank Bethpage enough for being able to host The Doc Gimmler in April," said Head Coach Mal Galletta. "The event is so important to the history of St John's golf, and I am extremely happy that we did not have to miss a year of the Gimmler. The course is in great shape and we are looking forward to hosting eight other teams."

Junior Jack Simon, who enters the event on the heels of a second place showing at the Wildcat Spring Invitational on Tuesday, is slotted as the team's number one golfer. In the Johnnies' most recent event, Simon opened up play with a career-best 66 before carding a closing-round 74 to finish at even-par 140. The reigning BIG EAST Male Golfer of the Week has finished inside the top-three in a trio of events this season, earning individual honors at the Red Storm Dual Match on April 6. Simon is boasting a 74.5 stroke average over seven events this season to lead the Red Storm squad and sit inside the top-15 among golfers in the BIG EAST.

Sophomores Alex Kyriacou and Gage Wolfle will enter the event as the team's number two and three golfers. Junior Tyler Gerbavsits and freshman Doug Beney are slotted in the fourth and fifth positions with sophomore Ryan Rittberger rounding out the six-man lineup for St. John's. Junior Joseph Busiello will be competing as an individual.

The nine-team field will include St. John's, Columbia, Wagner, Hofstra, Iona, Niagara, Manhattan, Hartford and LIU.

In 2013, St. John's renamed the event from The McLaughlin to The Doc Gimmler to honor former Red Storm golf coach Jack "Doc" Gimmler. Gimmler came to St. John's in 1945 and helped lead the baseball team to the school's first College World Series in 1949. After graduating, Gimmler went on to become the head athletic trainer for St. John's before taking over as the head coach of the men's golf team and Associate Director of Athletics.

Gimmler guided his team to the inaugural BIG EAST title in 1979 and led the Johnnies to nine conference championships in the first 11 years of the league's existence. Under Gimmler's direction, St. John's finished either first or second in the BIG EAST in all but one season between 1979 and 1990. The longtime coach also led St. John's to 10 Metropolitan Championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure.

Gimmler passed away in 1996, but will forever be remembered for his impact on collegiate golf, collegiate athletics, and St. John's over his more than four decades of service.

Live scoring for both days will be available via GolfStat.

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Players Mentioned

Douglas Beney

Joseph Busiello

Tyler Gerbavsits

Alex Kyriacou

Ryan Rittberger

Jack Simon

Gage Wolfle

St. John's University Athletics