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Courtesy UC San Diego Sports
Information Office
PASO ROBLES, Calif. - UC San Diego will host
the California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Golf
Championships at the Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles,
California on April 24-25. The tournament will take place over a
two day period, with two rounds, 36 holes total, being played on
Monday, April 17 and the final round of 18 played on Tuesday,
April 18.
Tee-times for both days will begin at 7:30 am
with the event preceded by a practice round and tournament banquet
on Sunday afternoon.
The Hunter Ranch Golf Course, given a four and
a half star rating by Golf Digest, lies at the heart of Central
California's Wine Country. Providing smooth, fast greens and
beautiful scenery, the tournament course measures 6,741 yards with
a par of 72 and will provide the setting for a world-class golfing
experience.
Seven teams will compete for the Grayle Howlett
Memorial Cup, rotated annually to the CCAA Champion and named in
honor of one of the guiding forces of the conference who passed
away in December 1995. The competing schools are Cal State
Bakersfield, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State San Bernardino,
Cal State Stanislaus, Chico State, UC San Diego, and Sonoma State,
with provisional CCAA member CSU Monterey Bay competing as a
non-scoring team.
The following provides a capsule look at the
entered teams:
- Last year's champion, Cal State
Bakersfield, enters the tournament ranked #2 in the nation
and with a conference best four wins and a 294.1 round average
as a team. Bakersfield will be looking for their fifth-straight
CCAA title and fourth-straight individual championship after
Mark Baker's win last year with a five-under 67. With Baker no
longer part of the team, the Roadrunners will be led by the 2004
Individual Champion, senior D.J. Fernando who has won two
tournaments and two CCAA Golfer of the Week awards on the year
and leads the conference with a 72.8 stroke average. Fellow
senior and teammate Cody Slover will also aim for both
individual and team glory with his 74.1 stroke average, while
freshman Chris Killmer rounds out the Roadrunners holding top-5
stroke averages with his 74.3 average.
- Senior Ryan Thornberry will be one of many
hoping to end the Roadrunners recent success as he leads #6
ranked Cal State Stanislaus and their squad's 299.6
round average. Thornberry, who's 74.1 stroke average ties him
with Slover for third in the conference, finished tied for third
in the race for the individual championship last year, shooting
a one-under 71, while Stanislaus as a team finished in 4th place
at +17. This year the Warriors enter the championships with
momentum after last week's tournament win at the George
Buzzini/Stanislaus Invitational, where they were able to defend
their home territory and win their second tournament of the
year.
- Also in the top five for stroke average this
season is Cal State San Bernardino senior Bryan Newman,
with a 73.8 average that is bested only by Fernando in the
conference. Newman was part of a San Bernardino squad that last
year finished at +13, one back of Bakersfield and Chico State.
Also part of that squad was senior Ryan Plummer, who had a 76.0
stroke average on the year. Sophomore Dane Bagnell rounds out
the Coyotes in the top 20 of stroke average with his 76.4
average. This year the #22 ranked Coyotes bring a 301.6 round
average and hopes of capturing their first tournament win of the
year.
- Sonoma State, the third highest
ranked team in the conference and #9 in the nation, holds a
303.7 round average. The Seawolves had early success this
season, winning the Southern California Intercollegiate
tournament on March 6-7. The team will be lead by sophomore Kyle
Hopkins and his 74.3 stroke average, tied for fifth in the
conference, freshman Jarin Todd and his 75.3 stroke average, and
former CCAA Golfer of the Week Chris Galvin with his 75.9 stroke
average.
- Cal State Monterey Bay, ineligible
for the Championship due to their provisional status, boats a
303.3 round average. Though ineligible for the championship, the
team finished 6th last year and contained the top-finisher in
individual play. Senior Nick Bell and sophomores Ricky Stockton
and Brian Thompson, all with stroke averages ranking in the
conference Top 20 lead the Otters on the season.
- Chico State, which lost the CCAA
Championship last year in a playoff to Bakersfield, returns this
year with something to prove to the rest of the conference. The
#31 ranked Wildcats, who lost many of their star players from
last year's squad, will be led by their lone senior, Kevin
Reilly. As a team, Chico State holds a 308.3 round average.
- Cal State Dominguez Hills also
enters tournament competition without an abundance of
experience. The only team in the conference without a senior
player, the Toros will instead rely on juniors Matt Giamberdino
and Chris Whitaker, and freshmen Niraj Dhruv and Miguel Saucedo.
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