Nadia Ste-Marie enters her 11th season as the head coach of the Navy women's golf program in 2022-23.
During the 2021-22 season, Ste-Marie led the Midshipmen to a third-place finish at the 2022 Patriot League Championship with a three-round score of 76-over par 940. In her 10th season at the helm of the Navy women’s golf program, Ste-Marie guided the Mids to a team scoring average of 309.4, the third-best average for a season in team history.
Navy opened its 2021-22 regular season with a bang, winning the Bucknell Invitational by 39 strokes with a 45-over par 885. The 885 was the best score for a 54-hole tournament in program history, besting the previous low score by nine strokes.
The Midshipmen recorded a total of five top-five finishes over their nine tournaments, including finishing second at the Lehigh Invitational, third in the Navy Fall Invitational, third at the Patriot League Championship and fifth at the Kingsmill Intercollegiate.
For the efforts accrued under the direction of Ste-Marie, three Mids earned All-Patriot League recognition, including Angelina Chan being named a first-team honoree for the second-straight season. In addition to Chan garnering all-league recognition, the pairing of Mara Hirtle and Stephanie Lee earned second-team honors.
Ste-Marie was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the third time in her career during the 2021 season. She also guided Navy to its first Patriot League Championship after the program finished with a 57-over par 921 to capture the tournament title. The Midshipmen only competed in five events during the season all coming after the athletics pause and the program posted a season average of 314.4. However, Navy’s seven lowest scores were all over the final three events of the season, which were highlighted by a pair of 305s during the final round of the Patriot League Tournament and second round of the NCAA Stanford Regional. During the program’s first NCAA Championship appearance the Midshipmen fired a three-round score of 73-over par 925.
Ste-Marie also coached four All-Patriot Leaguers during the 2021 season, which set a program record of most All-League performers in a single season and surpassed its previous best of three individuals in 2019. During the 2021 championship, Angelina Chan, Mara Hirtle and Stephanie Lee all finished at 14-over par 230 to finish tied for fourth and earn first-team honors. Christine McDonnell became the program’s first three-time All-League award winner after she earned a second-team recognition following her 18-over par 234 at the Patriot League Championship to place ninth.
Ste-Marie continued the stretch of lowering Navy’s team score for the seventh-straight season as Navy posted a 304.0 average over six events during the shortened 2019-20 campaign. She also helped the Midshipmen to a tournament victory at the Bucknell Invitational with a score of 55-over par 895 on the course that was set to host the 2020 Patriot League Championship prior to the cancelation.
Ste-Marie helped Shannon Gould to medalist honors at the Bucknell Invitational. In total, Navy posted seven individual top-10 finishes, five top-five finishes and an individual win. Through the six events, the team combined for five top-10 finishes and a trio of top-five finishes.
In the 2019-20 season, Navy’s posted three rounds of 297 for its lowest of season. Amelia Root and Christine McDonnell set the lowest round in program history with a pair of 68s during the season. Gould also set the school record for the lowest 54-tournament score with a 217 en route to winning the Bucknell Invitational.
During the 2018-19 season, she coached Navy to its first team tournament title in program history after winning the 16-team Low Country Intercollegiate with a 24-over par 600 to set the program record for lowest 36-hole team score. Ste-Marie also helped Navy place second at the Patriot League Championship for the second-straight season.
The Midshipmen also won the Navy Spring Invitational for the first time in program history with a 27-over par 603. Navy also set the program record for the lowest team round at 5-over par 293 during the third round of the Nittany Lion Invitational and lowest 54-hole tournament score of 30-over par 894.
Navy also set a new program record for lowest team average for the year after averaging 304.2 throughout the 2018-19 season. The Midshipmen also finished inside the top 10 in nine of their 10 tournaments this season with six top-five finishes. Navy also finished in the top half of the largest collegiate golf tournament of the year with a 22nd-place finish out of 49 teams at the Kiawah Island Classic.
Ste-Marie also coached First Team All-Patriot League honorees Christine McDonnell and Shannon Gould along with second-team honoree Morgan Frazier.
In 2017-18, Navy had a program-best second-place finish at the six-team Patriot League Women’s Golf Championship, which was hosted at the Naval Academy Golf Club. Navy shot a 946 (321-314-308; +79) at the three-round Patriot League Championship. Navy’s Morgan Frazier (second place) and Christine McDonnell (fourth place) became the first Navy women’s golfers to earn All-Patriot League First-Team honors with their top-five finishes.
Ste-Marie was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the second time in her career following the 2018 Patriot League Women’s Golf Championship.
Navy set a new program record with its team scoring average of 314.4 in 2017-18 and lowered its scoring average from the previous season for the fifth-straight year. The 2017-18 team set program records for lowest individual round (68 - McDonnell), lowest team round (296) and lowest 54-hole tournament score (900). Navy had four second-place team finishes in 2017-18.
McDonnell (76.8) and Frazier (77.2) became the first two Navy women’s golfers to average under an 80.0 for a season.
Navy continued to improve in its fifth season as a varsity program in 2016-17, lowering its team scoring average for the fourth straight season to a 322.2. Under Ste-Marie's direction, Navy has lowered its team scoring average in each successive season of the program's existence.
Christine Walker broke her own single-season scoring record for the second straight season in 2016-17 with an 80.1 and newcomer Frazier was right behind Walker with an 80.3 average. Frazier became just the second Mid to earn medalist honors at a tournament, winning the 10-team, 59-player Seahawk Spring Invitational with a 150 (73-77; +6).
Navy's top team finishes were a second-place showing at the Sacred Heart Invitational and a third-place showing at the Seahawk Spring Invitational. Navy also defeated The Citadel in a match play dual, 5-1. Navy and The Citadel are the only two service academies that sponsor women's golf.
The Mids set new program records for lowest single team round (297) and lowest 36-hole tournament score (622).
In 2015-16, Navy lowered its team scoring average for a third straight season to a 325.8. The Mids established a new low team score for a par-72, 54-hole tournament with a 958 and also shot a new low team round score of 310 (+30).
Two-time team captain Renata Bucher was named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team for the third straight year and Walker set a new Navy record by leading the team with an 80.4 scoring average.
With the arrival of the program's first fully recruited class in 2014-15, Ste-Marie immediately took the Navy women's golf team to new heights. Ste-Marie was named the 2015 Patriot League Women's Golf Coach of the Year, the team dropped its scoring average by 30 strokes from the previous season and four Navy freshmen placed in the top-15 at the league championship tournament.
Navy's Class of 2018 provided an immediate boost and Ste-Marie's coaching ability was on full display during the 2014-15 season. The Mids lowered their scoring average by an incredible margin, going from 357 in 2013-14 to 327 in 2014-15.
Ste-Marie led Navy to a third-place finish at the 2015 Patriot League Women's Golf Championship, which the team successfully hosted at the Naval Academy Golf Club. Navy's 54-hole total of 978 at the league championship was 50 strokes better than the previous season. With four of Navy's plebes placing in the top-15 and Navy taking third place, the league's head coaches selected Ste-Marie as the 2015 Patriot League Women's Golf Coach of the Year.
In 2014-15, Navy dramatically lowered its program-best scores for both a single round (315) and for a 54-hole tournament (961). Additionally, Walker became the second Midshipman to earn All-Patriot League Second Team honors in 2015 after tying for 10th at the league championship.
In 2013-14, while still awaiting the arrival of her first fully recruited class, Ste-Marie's coaching ability was fully evident as Navy lowered its team average and then-sophomore Bucher became the first Navy women's golfer to earn All-Patriot League honors.
Under Ste-Marie's direction, Navy lowered its team average by seven strokes from last season while also shaving 26 strokes off its total score at the 2014 Patriot League Championship from the previous season's league meet.
Bucher tied for seventh place at the Patriot League Championship to earn All-Patriot League Second Team honors. Bucher also became the first Navy women's golfer to be the medalist of a tournament when she won the Navy Spring Classic. Bucher had four top-10 finishes in her final five events of the season and led the team with a stroke average of 81.5.
During the introductory 2012-13 season, Ste-Marie led the Midshipmen to a third-place finish at the inaugural Patriot League Championships, despite having the services of no recruited athletes. Bucher, a freshman, led the team in stroke average and was named to the WGCA Scholar All-America Team.
Ste-Marie was tabbed as the first head coach in program history on November 5, 2012, when Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced on that women's golf would be elevated to a varsity sport.
Due of the timing of the announcement, Navy missed out on the fall season of its inaugural 2012-13 season and the arrival of Ste-Marie's first fully recruited class was delayed until the 2014-15 season. Despite the challenges, Ste-Marie was successful in laying down a foundation for a program that would soon compete at the top of the Patriot League.
Ste-Marie had an outstanding collegiate career at both Hawai'i and Florida State before graduating in 1990 with a degree in sociology from Florida State. As a Seminole, Ste-Marie won four individual tournaments and had 13 top-10 finishes during her career.
In the summer before her senior year at Florida State, she played in the 1988 U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Women's Amateur, then capped off her career in Tallahassee by being named a first-team All-American and qualified as an individual competitor in the 1989 NCAA Golf Championship.
During her time at Hawai'i, she competed in the 1985 and 1987 U.S. Women's Amateur Tournaments and won a pair of amateur tournaments in Hawai'i in 1985. After graduating from Florida State, Ste-Marie 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 Open.
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.
Ste-Marie held seven different professional tour membership cards, competing professionally for 10 years on the LPGA Tour, European Tour, Asian Tour, Canadian PGA and the FUTURES Tour, among others.
Ste-Marie is currently an assistant golf professional at the United States Naval Academy Golf Club, a position she has held since 1999. She has also served as the Director of Golf at the Sherwood Forest Boys and Girls Summer Camp and has been an LPGA Teaching & Club Professional since 2000.
She was inducted into the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Ste-Marie and her husband, Bill McKeon, are the parents of two sons, Kyle and Noah, and a daughter, Taylor. The family resides in Annapolis.
