ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After building the Navy women's golf program from scratch and leading it for the past 11 seasons, head coach Nadia Ste-Marie has announced her retirement to move back to Florida with her family.
 
"My association over the past 24 years with the amazing people of the United States Naval Academy and the Naval Academy Golf Club has been a blessing," said Ste-Marie. "I could not imagine a better work environment anywhere and it's hard to leave from something that never felt like work. Coaching the Navy women's golf team has been one of the most fulfilling honors of my life, and it has been packed with great friendships, wonderful experiences and unforgettable memories. Golf is in my blood and Navy Golf will always be a part of my DNA. I am extremely grateful to Pat Owen for hiring me as an assistant pro in 1999 at the USNA Golf Club. From the beginning, I met so many amazing members and developed wonderful friendships. Then, in 2012, Mr. Gladchuk showed the confidence in me to start the varsity women's golf program and I can't thank him enough for believing in me. The past 11 years coaching and walking the fairways with so many amazing young ladies have been immensely rewarding both on and off the golf course. I have loved being part of the NAAA family and will forever cherish my time in Annapolis."
 
"Nadia has been the guiding light for our varsity women's golf program," said Navy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. "She was our first head coach and created a program of great respect in Division I and amazing accomplishments in the Patriot League. She is a wonderful person with a full understanding of the values that are the building blocks for leadership development at the Academy. We will miss her very much and are so grateful for her legacy at Navy, but we are happy that Nadia, Bill and their family are excited about their move back to the Sunshine State."
 
Wrapping up a 2022-23 season that saw the Mids post the lowest team scoring average in program history at 303.9, Ste-Marie guided the Mids to six Patriot League Player of the Week honors during her final campaign, as Navy posted the program's lowest Patriot League Championship team score (32-over par 896). Ste-Marie's squad set the program record with a 36-hole score of 18-over par 594 at the Lehigh Invitational, while the Red Rocks Invitational saw the Mids establish a program-low round of 1-over par 289 and a 54-hole program-record team score of 16-over par 880.
 
Individually in 2022-23, Mara Hirtle's medalist honors at the JEL Outer Banks Intercollegiate made her the first Navy golfer to collect multiple wins in a career and Bridget Hoang's 215 score in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational set the program record for an individual performance in a 54-hole event. Lastly, Stephanie Lee's 5-under par 67 second-round performance at the Navy Spring Invitational set a program record and tied a course record, while her 4-under par 140 weekend score was a program best for a 36-hole tournament.
 
A three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2021), Ste-Marie led the Mids to their first league championship in 2021 and posted runner-up finishes in both 2018 and 2019. Including the 2021 Patriot League Championship, Ste-Marie's teams collected nine first-place finishes over the last five seasons, highlighted by a program-record four team titles this past season. Individually, she developed a total of 15 All-Patriot League honorees and saw a pair of her golfers finish in second place in the league's championship event: Morgan Frazier in 2018 and Christine McDonnell in 2019.
 
Academically, Ste-Marie's Midshipmen earned nine Academic All-Patriot League citations, highlighted by Frazier being named Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2018. Additionally, Navy racked up 16 WGCA Scholar All-Americans and 40 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recipients under Ste-Marie.
 
Originally arriving in Annapolis as an assistant golf professional at the Naval Academy Golf Club in 1999, Ste-Marie also served for a time as the Director of Golf at the Sherwood Forest Boys and Girls Summer Camp and spent 13 years as an LPGA Teaching & Club Professional.
 
An outstanding collegiate golfer at both Hawai'i and Florida State, Ste-Marie won four individual tournaments and had 13 top-10 finishes during her career. During her collegiate career, Ste-Marie competed at the 1985, 1987 and 1988 U.S. Women's Amateur Tournaments as well as the 1988 U.S. Women's Open, also winning a pair of amateur tournaments in Hawai'i in 1985. She capped off her collegiate career by being named a First Team All-American and qualifying as an individual competitor for the Seminoles in the 1989 NCAA Championship.
 
Ste-Marie then turned pro on the LPGA Tour in 1990 and went on to play in the 1991 and 1992 Women's British Open Championships and the 1996, 1997 and 1998 U.S. Women's Opens. She was the qualifying medalist for the 1997 U.S. Women's Open, and recorded 19 top-10 professional finishes including titles at the du Maurier Ltd. Series in London in 1993 and at the 2006 LPGA TC&P North East Sectional Championship.
 
In addition to the LPGA Tour, Ste-Marie held several different professional tour membership cards during a 10-year pro stint, including the European Tour, Asian Tour, Canadian PGA and the FUTURES Tour, among others.
 
Graduating in 1990 with a degree in sociology from Florida State, Ste-Marie was inducted into the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. She and her husband, Bill McKeon, are the parents of two sons, Kyle and Noah, and a daughter, Taylor.