The UCSD men’s golf team tied for eighth with Cal State San Bernadino at the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament this past Monday.
For day one, all nine CCAA teams competed at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California for the full 36 holes. The top four finishers, Chico State, Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State East Bay and Sonoma State, advanced and will move on to day two of the tournament. On day two, the semifinals of the tournament, third-seeded Cal State East Bay took down second-seeded Stanislaus State and fourth-seeded Sonoma State dominated Chico State, the top seed, in 18-hole matched.
With its defeat on Tuesday, Cal State Stanislaus will not complete the three-peat. Although Cal State Stanislaus was the reigning CCAA champion, in the most recent National Coaches Poll, Chico State is ranked No. 1, Cal State Monterey Bay is No. 8, Cal State San Marcos is No. 22 and Sonoma State is No. 24. There was some shake-up after day one of the competition, with only Chico State and defending champion Sonoma State reaching the semifinals out of all the ranked teams.
UCSD shot a 296 in the opening round combined with a 302 in the second round, resulting in a final score of 598. The Tritons were 26 strokes over par as the par was 572 over 36 holes on a 6,813 yard course. Senior Triton golfers Jeff Roseth and Daniel Yang tied for 15th, shooting a 148, +4; Roseth shot a 72 and 76 while Yang shot a 75-73.
Other Tritons in the tournament included freshman Jake Haselden and senior Clayton Yamaguchi, who also placed in the top 40. Haselden went 77-74, earning him the 28th spot as Yamaguchi placed 33rd, shooting a 73-79. Freshman Drew Robbins finished 41st, on par-5 holes, with a 4.50-stroke average, which tied him for best in the tournament.
Out of the 45 players competing in the tournament, only six shot under par.
“We came here to play good golf, and we did so for 33 holes,” Triton head coach Jim Ragan told UCSD Athletics after the team’s elimination from the tournament. ”Up until the last three holes we were right in there and right in the mix … And we simply just didn’t finish well, and I know the guys were really disappointed.”
The CCAA championship will be take place on Wednesday, April 20, in which the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
