The UCSD men’s golf team placed fifth in a field of eight teams at the April 18 and April 19 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships, which took place at Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Nobles, Calif.
The morning of April 18 found the Tritons starting things off with a 297, nine over par, which put them in a tie for fourth place. Following what seems to be a pattern, UCSD returned in the afternoon to post their lowest round of the tournament, a 289. Unfortunately, the pattern continued into the following morning, when the Tritons turned in their highest scoring round, a 298. Overall, this gave UCSD a tournament score of 884, 20 over par.
Competition was clearly cutthroat, as Cal State Bakersfield and Chico State actually tied for first place before going into a playoff. Both squads posted a final score of 877, with Bakersfield doing it by rounds of 298, 287 and 292, while Chico shot 302, 283 and 292. In a tiebreaker, Bakersfield pulled ahead to claim first place.
Cal State San Bernardino missed a three-way tie for first by one stroke, finishing with an 878, earning rounds of 291, 286 and 301. Cal State Stanislaus was also right in the fray, coming in fourth with an 881. Stanislaus shot 290 and 294 on in the first two rounds, respectively, and 297 on April 19.
Cal State Monterey Bay just missed UCSD to take sixth place, earning rounds of 303, 293 and 289, respectively, to finish with an 885. Sonoma State University found itself in seventh place after shooting rounds of 297 and 290 on April 18 and 310 on April 19, for a total of 897. Cal State Dominguez Hills rounded out the pack of eight teams with a 974 off rounds of 317, 336 and 321.
Individually, senior Brian Duckworth once again took the lead for the Tritons, and placed in the top 10, finishing in a tie for seventh place with a 220, four over par. Duckworth started things off with an even par 72 in the early round on April 18, and returned in the afternoon with a 73. On April 19, he earned a 75. Duckworth’s performance in this tournament and over the course of the season was more than good enough to earn him a place on the All-CCAA team.
Sophomore Luke Leveillee continued to show that he will be a big part of the Tritons’ future, as he managed to earn a tie for 11th place with a total score of 221. Leveillee earned a 75 on the morning of April 18, and then came back to post two consecutive scores of 73.
Senior Joe Dolby, third for the Tritons, tied for 15th overall. Dolby turned in a 76 in the early round on April 18, but came out that afternoon to turn in a 69, the low score for UCSD in the tournament. Unfortunately, Dolby slipped a little on April 19, posting a 77, and finished with a 222. Dolby also earned himself a spot on the All-CCAA roster.
Fourth-place honors for UCSD went to junior Ryo Yamada, who tied for 21st overall with a score of 224. Yamada started things off with a 76 in the first round on April 18, which he followed with a pair of 74s in his next two rounds.
Completing the squad for the Tritons was freshman Chris Hirahatake, whose 225 was enough to earn him a 23rd-place finish. Hirahatake got the ball rolling on April 18 with a 74 in the morning and a 75 in the afternoon. On April 19, Hirahatake shot a 76.
