The UCSD men’s golf team traveled to paradise on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast to participate in the Mauna Lani Intercollegiate, but finished a less-than-perfect seventh out of nine participating teams. The University of Hawaii at Hilo hosted the tournament on the Lani North Course, built on top of lava beds at the Mauna Lani Resort. Teams from around the country flew in for the event, playing two rounds on Oct. 31 and one more on Nov. 1.
The Tritons found themselves in the middle of the field on the first day, accumulating a team score of 299 on each of the two rounds. They came back strong on the second day, shooting a round of 293, to finish with a 27-over-par 891, good enough to finish for seventh place.
The team from sixth-ranked Cal State Stanislaus finished first in the tournament overall, with rounds of 292 and 286 on day one and 283 on the last day of competition to earn a score of 861, 3 under par. Close behind the first-place finisher was Sonoma State University, trailing by only six strokes, with a final of 867 in the tournament, after shooting rounds of 294, 284 and 289.
The battle for third place ended in a tie between the host Vulcans and Western Washington University, with both teams racking up 879. The Vulcans finished with rounds of 285, 301 and 293, while Western Washington compiled rounds of 285, 303 and 291 in the tournament. Also finishing ahead of the Tritons were Notre Dame de Namur, in fifth, with 881, and Chico State in sixth, with 884.
Senior Robbie Kramer emerged as the top Triton finisher in the tournament, earning a tie for 14th place out of 44 individuals. Kramer started off with rounds of 74 and 76 but returned strong and shot a 69 on the second day, 3 strokes under par, to finish with a 219 total.
Sophomore Luke Leveille tied for 15th in the tournament and was the second-best Triton, with a 220 overall. He began the tournament with a 77 and shot a 68 on his second round, just one stroke off the top score of that day and the best Triton outing of the tournament. On his second day, Leveille earned a 75 on the course.
Senior Justin Grant took third on the Triton squad, finishing 29th overall, with rounds of 76, 80 and 74. His overall score of 230 was just ahead of fellow senior Ryo Yamada’s score of 231. Yamada tied sophomore teammate Chris Hirahatake, for 30th place. Yamada had rounds of 71, 84 and 75, while Hirahatake scored 77 and 75 on the first day and 79 on the second.
The individual champion of the tournament, Tim Feenstra, was from fifth-ranked Western Washington University, and shot a 210 in the tournament, 6 strokes under par for the course.
The Tritons will return to compete on Feb.18-19 at the Battle at the Lake Tournament.
