'EWA BEACH, Hawai'i - The UC San Diego men's golf team moved up two spots in the standings Tuesday to finish 12th at the Hoakalei Country Club Invitational.
The University of Hawai'i hosted the 54-hole tournament at Hoakalei Country Club in 'Ewa Beach, located in the county and city of Honolulu.
It was the final fall tournament for the Tritons.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Sitting in a tie for 14th in the 15-team field following 36 holes of play Monday, UC San Diego carded a 295 Tuesday, its best round of the event, to grab the 12th-place finish. The Tritons totaled a 44-over par 908 with rounds of 312, 301, and 295.
Individually, senior
Ryan Vaughan and junior
Elliot Bunyaviroch were the top-placing Tritons, tying for 51st in the 79-player field. They each finished 12-over par with a 298. Vaughan went 81-72-75 while Bunyaviroch went 80-78-70.
Bunyaviroch made a 25-spot beeline up the leader board with his 2-under 70 today, which equaled his career-best round. It was also the best round by any Triton during the tournament. His round consisted of four birdies, 12 pars, and two bogeys. For the tournament, he had a 2.92 scoring average on par-3 holes, tied for the fourth-best.
At the end of play Monday, he was tied for 76th.
Vaughan was tied for 58th after the first two rounds.
Sophomore
Jerry Wu (81-76-73--230, +14) tied for 57th, 14 spots better than he was before teeing off. Freshman
Francis Catalano (77-75-80--232, +16) tied for 64th and redshirt freshman
Davis McDowell (74-82-77--233, +17) tied for 69th.
The University of San Diego, holding third place coming in, jumped up two spots to win the team title. The Toreros finished 7-under par with an 857 (287-288-282). They were two strokes ahead of second-place Loyola Marymount, the only other squad to finish the tourney under par.
Three Toreros were among the top-10, including individual medalist Charlie Reiter, who finished 8-under with a 208 (70-69-69).
The par-72, 7,444-yard course played to a 74.86 scoring average over the three rounds. Tuesday's 75.20 was the highest average of the competition.
A total of 11 players were under par for the tournament.
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WHAT HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER HAD TO SAY
"We showed improvement in the final round led by Elliot's 70.
Some of the others were in position to break par, but faltered near the end.
I really believe that with some focused work over the next three months or so, we will be closer to the top of the leader board than the bottom in the winter and spring tournaments."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Today's round of 295 was just one off the team's season-best, a 294 in the second round of the Nick Watney Invitational on September 27.
• It was the third 70 shot by
Elliot Bunyaviroch as a Triton. He did it earlier this season as well as in 2019.
• There were four Big West Conference schools competing - Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, and UC San Diego.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
