GOLF — The Tritons put together a sixth-place finish at the
two-day California Collegiate Athletic Association championships in Paso Robles
on April 21 and 22 with their three-round score of 891, 33 shots behind the
champions, Sonoma State University. UCSD couldn’t recover after a first-round
300 landed the team in sixth place, but improved scores of 293 and 298 in the
latter rounds helped end the season on a high note. With no seniors on the
roster, UCSD has had plenty of time to grow as a team, a trait that makes it
dangerous going into next season.
“Our team definitely experienced some growing pains this
season,” 29th-year coach Mike Wydra said. “But in the long run it will only
make our team better. I’ve seen how hard this team has worked, and it will pay
off. This program hasn’t been to the NCAA Championships since 2004, but I know
this team is getting closer and closer to making a return trip there real
soon.”
Wydra has become a legend during his tenure with the
Tritons. He’s still searching for that elusive championship after finishing
runner-up in the national championship five times during his career.
Individually, the tournament was won by Eric Justesen of Cal
State Stanislaus, who ran away from the competition with a 14-under par 202 to
earn individual medalist honors. A first round score of 70 put Justesen in a
three-way tie for first, but after that, he left no doubt, notching rounds of
65 and 67 to distance himself from the second-place finisher, the Seawolves’
Jarin Todd, who was eight shots behind. Sonoma State was the only school to
have three golfers finish in the top 10, with Todd, Kyle Hopkins in seventh and
Chris Galvin, tied at ninth, leading the way.
UCSD’s top finisher was junior Nathan Phan, who finished a
solid season with a tie for ninth place. His overall score of 218 was two shots
better than junior Ryan Bailey, who finished in 14th place. Phan’s first round
of 70 put him in good shape to contend for the title, but a second round of 74
ended those dreams as he entered the final round nine shots behind the lead. A
final round of 74 ended Phan’s tournament with a cumulative two over par.
“Anytime you don’t win, it’s disappointing, and that‘s the
way I look at these tournaments,” Phan said. “My goal is to be the best golfer
at the end of the day, and I showed I could contend after my first round. I
just wish I could have been more consistent and put my team in a better
position in rounds two and three. I hope that I can put a better performance
together in the Super Regional, where our season is really on the line.”
Freshman Keith Okasaki finished his first year as a Triton
by finishing in 15th place, just behind Bailey with a score of 221. A great
second round of 70 was sandwiched between rounds of 76 and 75 to put him at
five over par. Sophomore Austin Alfonso and junior Billy Olsen finished near
the bottom of the individual leaderboard after struggling early. Alfonso shot a
first round 84, which put him in a tie for last, but he recovered slightly and
finished in a tie for 30th out of 35 golfers. Olsen shot a first round 82, then
followed up with rounds of 76 and 77 to finish in 34th place with a cumulative
score of 235.
The Tritons’ season will be on the line in the Division-II
Super Regional Championship, which starts on May 5. The three-day tournament’s
location is yet to be announced. Last year, the Tritons finished in sixth place
at the eight-team event in
In order to make the NCAA Championships, UCSD will need to do better than that
this year. Phan narrowly missed out on qualifying for the championships as an
individual last year, and could contend for a spot this year.
