The UCSD golf team took sixth place in the 16-team Hanny Stanislaus Invitational last week, April 17 to April 18. The Tritons finished with a score of 927 (+63) after three rounds.
Host Cal State Stanislaus won the tournament with an overall score of 888 (+24). Fellow California Collegiate Athletic Association member Cal State Monterey Bay finished in second, just two strokes behind third-place Great Northwest Athletic Conference member Western Washington University.
Stanislaus freshman Trevor Clayton carded first overall. The freshman was the only competitor in the 87-player field to finish under par. Sophomore Jay Lim led the Tritons through the 54-hole event. Lim finished 13 over par, with a score of 229, to tie for 16th overall. The sophomore carded scores of 71 and 75 in the first and second rounds but fell off in the last round, scoring an 83.
“Overall, my individual performance was frustrating, because I was in contention early on, and in the final round I kind of blew it, but overall, it was a good experience,” Lim said.
Senior Fredrik Palmer-Picard was the next-highest finisher for UCSD, carding 232, while junior Lewis Simon tied for 30th, with a score of 235. Freshman Clayton Yamaguchi recorded just one stroke behind Simon and junior Ryan Rankin slated a 247 (+31).
“I think we should have definitely at least gotten fifth out there,” Lim said. “One of my teammates had an unfortunate two-stroke penalty, so although we did well, we probably should have been in the top-five.”
As the last tournament of the regular season, the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational served as a precursor for the CCAA conference championships. Eight of the 10 participating CCAA teams took part in the invitational, one week before the CCAA Championships, April 22 and April 23 at the Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles, Calif.
“We’re looking good; we’re going to try out, maybe, a new lineup next week in conference, right before the postseason,” Lim said. “We all just need to figure out how to finish off our rounds in the end and pull together.”
Last season, the Tritons finished third in the conference tournament in order to punch their first ticket to the NCAA Regionals since 2007. UCSD is currently ranked seventh in the region, and, with the top 10 teams qualifying for regionals, will look to finish strong for a chance at a second straight regional berth.