Bob Cardea returns for his 12th fall season as the head coach of the Rutgers University-Camden golf program. Cardea, who has coached the Scarlet Raptors longer than anybody in program history, started at Rutgers-Camden during the 1995 spring season.
After four consecutive winning semesters, Cardea saw his golf team slip to 21-40 during an injury-riddled spring 2006 campaign. That mark ended the longest consecutive-semester winning streak in program history, which ran from the 2004 spring season through the fall of 2005. That 2005 fall team posted a 44-41-1 record, marking the first time in Rutgers-Camden golf history the program had posted four consecutive winning semesters. The team wrapped up that winning record by capturing the title of its own Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors Fall Invitational (Oct. 28, 2005).
During those four semesters, Rutgers-Camden posted a 177-143-2 mark. That streak included a combined 96-66-1 record during the 2004-2005 academic year, the first winning school year at Rutgers-Camden since the team went 112-50-4 in 1993-1994.
Cardea’s Scarlet Raptors posted a 39-38-1 record during the spring 2005 season to record
their third consecutive winning semester, a feat that hadn’t happened since they had winning records from the 1987 spring through the 1988 spring semesters.
The highlight of the 2005 spring semester came when Chris Binder shot a 71 at the Susquehanna Spring Invitational (April 7), breaking the old mark of 72 accomplished three times – once by Binder (Sept. 23, 2004) and twice by Chris Bevelheimer (Sept. 24, 1993 and April 25, 1994).
During the fall of 2004, the Scarlet Raptors competed in seven invitationals, producing an outstanding 57-28 overall mark. It was more wins in one semester than any team since the 63-23-1 squad, which set a school record in the spring of 1994. Only that club and the 1992 fall team (61-30) posted better records than the Raptors did during the 2004 fall campaign.
In addition to their overall record, Cardea’s Raptors established a program record with a 308 team score at the Franklin & Marshall College Invitational (Sept. 13, 2004) and Binder tied the old individual school mark with his round of 72 at the Moravian College Fall Golf Invitational.
In the last five semesters, Cardea’s team has posted the four lowest scores in program history, and also tied the fifth-lowest score last fall with a 313 outing at the Wesley College Invitational (Sept. 8, 2005).
The Scarlet Raptors started their turnaround in the spring of 2004 with a 37-36 record in seven invitationals. That mark gave the Scarlet Raptors their first winning semester since the 63-23-1 mark in the spring of 1994.
The Scarlet Raptors lowered their school record team score that spring, shooting a 312 at the Susquehanna University Tee-Off Invitational (March 25, 2004) then lowered that mark with a 309 score at the Rutgers-Camden Spring Golf Invitational (April 23, 2004). In the fall of 2004 they not only improved that score to a 308 at Franklin & Marshall, but they also added a 310 at the East Stroudsburg University Fall Invitational (Oct. 15, 2004).
Prior to the spring of 2004, the old team mark was 313, set at the Pocono Intercollegiate Championship (April 21, 1994).
The Raptors capped a brilliant fall in 2004 with a strong finish in their last three outings. After a pair of second-place finishes, Rutgers-Camden won the Gwynedd-Mercy College Tri-Match in its last competition Oct. 18.
Last fall the Raptors had two golfers who averaged under 80, as Matt Tomasic carded a 79.0 and Brian Mason came in with a 79.7 mark. Both competed in all six fall invitationals.
The Raptors offered a preview of their upcoming accomplishments during the fall of 2003. That success was led by Ryan Cusick, who opened the campaign with three straight rounds in the 70s, including a 77 (at the time a career low) at the Moravian College Fall Golf Invitational Sept. 25. Cusick’s 77 helped the Raptors post a 325 team score, the best team score since their 313 in 1994.
Cardea joined the Rutgers-Camden coaching staff in 1995, continuing a tradition which seems to run in the family. His late father, Don, served as the school’s golf coach from 1983-87.
In January of 2004, Cardea accepted a new position as the Director of Golf Instruction at Town & Country Golf Links in Woodstown. The new course has been rated the No. 1 course in Salem County, and will be the site for the Scarlet Raptors’ Spring Golf Invitational April 15.
Cardea joined the Rutgers-Camden coaching staff in 1995, continuing a tradition which seems to run in the family. His late father, Don, served as the school’s golf coach from 1983-87.
In January of 2004, Cardea accepted a new position as the Director of Golf Instruction at Town & Country Golf Links in Woodstown. The new course has been rated the No. 1 course in Salem County, and will be the site for the Scarlet Raptors’ Spring Golf Invitational April 15.
Before accepting his new job, Cardea served as the Director of Golf Instruction of the South Jersey Golf Schools at the Parkville Golf Center in West Deptford. Prior to that, he spent six years serving as the General Manager of Somerton Springs South Jersey Golf Campus in Washington Township.
A Cherry Hill resident, Cardea was a four-year golf letterman at Cherry Hill East High School, where he served as captain and led his team to a pair of state finals. He was a member of Wesley College’s Eastern College Athletic Conference championship team in 1988 before transferring to Towson State University. Cardea continued his golfing career at Towson State, and graduated from the school in December, 1992, with a degree in Business Management.
Following college, Cardea attended the PGA Teaching School in West Palm Beach, Florida. He returned to Florida in February, 1999, where he passed the United States Golf Teachers Federation professional test in Port St. Lucie. The certification process included 36 holes on the Saints Course at Club Med, a written rules test and a teaching test.
As a member of the USGTF, Cardea participated in his first USGTF National Championship in October, 1999. The top six golfers at the event made the World Cup team.
Whether it was illness, normal physical ailments or freak accidents, everything seemed to hit the Raptors last spring, resulting in a rash of injuries and depleted lineups at almost every invitational. Only two golfers, senior John Goff (Haddon Heights, NJ/Paul VI) and junior Robert Burgess (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) played in all eight spring outings for the Raptors. Rutgers-Camden’s top golfer from last fall, Matt Tomasic (Berlin, NJ/St. Augustine) missed half of the spring schedule due to a series of injuries.
That lost playing time was reflected on the Raptors’ team record as Rutgers-Camden struggled to a 21-40 mark in the spring, ending Rutgers-Camden’s program-record streak of four straight winning semesters. Despite the injuries, the Scarlet Raptors finished strong with victories in their last two outings, the RU-Camden Scarlet Raptors Spring Invitational (April 28) and a dual match at Richard Stockton College (May 1). Tomasic was the individual medalist at the Raptors’ own invitational, while Goff and Burgess tied for medalist honors in the final outing with Stockton’s Matt Truex.
Tomasic leads three returning lettermen this fall. The transfer from Moravian College averaged 82.8 in his four spring outings and enters the 2006 fall season with an 80.5 average in 10 career matches at Rutgers-Camden.
“Matt Tomasic is our number one,” said Cardea, whose team had posted a 44-41-1 mark in the 2005 fall season before being riddled with injuries in the spring. “We are looking for some big things from him.”
The Raptors also are looking for plenty from lettermen Michael Nauss (Blackwood, NJ/Paul VI) and fourth-year player Robert Burgess (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic). Nauss, a sophomore who averaged 85.3 over his first full year with the Raptors, carded his top round last spring with an 82 at Susquehanna April 6. Burgess, meanwhile, enters the fall season with 25 Rutgers-Camden invitationals under his belt and a 91.0 career average. He averaged 89.0 last spring while becoming one of only two Scarlet Raptors to compete in all eight invitationals.
“Mike Nauss has the potential for some big game,” Cardea said. “He has been working hard this fall. Rob Burgess is our old reliable. He’s now a senior and he has been getting better each year.”
The Raptors also will be better with the addition of three in freshmen Dave Taraschi (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial), Corey McDonough (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic) and Neal Patel (Princeton, NJ/Framingham, MA).
“Dave Taraschi was our top recruit from the powerhouse Haddonfield High School team,” Cardea said. “He was probably one of the top five high school players in South Jersey last year.”
McDonough, meanwhile, also had a fine high school career in Pennsylvania and is doing double-duty during the fall semester: he also serves as a goalkeeper on the Scarlet Raptors’ talented men’s soccer team.
“We are sharing him with the soccer team this fall, but we are looking forward to a promising spring from this highly-regarded freshman,” said Cardea, referring to McDonough.
Former Raptor star and team captain Brian Mason will serve as Cardea’s assistant coach this year. He was a volunteer assistant last season.
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