CARLSBAD, Calif. - Two players finished among the top-10 and the University of California San Diego men's golf team placed sixth at its own UC San Diego Invitational Tuesday at La Costa.

Senior Ryan Vaughan tied for sixth and freshman Alex Hanz tied for ninth in the 43-player field. Both of those finishes were career-bests. Vaughan shot rounds of 70, 75, and 77 on the par-72 Champions Course to finish 6-over with a 222. Hanz totaled a 224 (+8) after firing rounds of 72, 74, and 78. Both Tritons competed as individuals and did not figure in the team's scoring.

UC San Diego was 61-over par with a 925. The Tritons shot a 307 Tuesday after posting rounds of 320 and 298 Monday. They improved by 22-strokes between the first and second rounds.

Among the five players in the Tritons' team lineup, freshmen Akira Isayama (78-75-77--230, +14) and Jerry Wu (81-73-76--230, +14) tied for 24th, junior Sergi Mata De La Barata Barcons (79-79-74--232, +16) tied for 29th, junior Jared Gross (85-71-84--240, +24) tied for 36th, and freshman Davis Lee (82-80-80--242, +26) tied for 39th. 

Other Tritons competing as individuals included junior Ethan Chen (80-78-70--228, +12), who tied for 17th, and sophomore Blake Iwaisako (84-78-88--250, +34), who placed 42nd..

Utah State led wire-to-wire and topped the six-team field. The Aggies went 299, 294, and 300 for a total of 893 (+29). They were four strokes in front of second place Southern Utah (306-294-297--897, +33). UC Irvine (+40) and UC Santa Barbara (+40) tied for third and Cal State Northridge (+57) was fifth.

Utah State's Colton Cordingley and San Diego State's Liam Koeneke tied for first. Koeneke won a three-hole playoff (par-par-birdie) to grab the title. He was the lone player under par after Monday's 36 holes. 

The par-72 La Costa Champions Course played at 7,151 yards. The first round saw a 78.05 stroke average followed by a 75.65 in the second round and a 76.53 in the third for an average score of 76.74. No players finished under par.  

TRITON TIDBITS
• This was the first tournament that UC San Diego has hosted since 2019 and its first hosting role as an NCAA Division I team.
• Isayama's eagle on the par-5 sixth hole in the first round was the first eagle by any Triton this season.
• Vaughan was tied for first at the end of the first round.
• Of the three tourneys played by UC San Diego this season, this was the first to finish two rounds on Monday. The other two outings were halted due to darkness and the second round was finished Tuesday morning.
• UC Irvine and UC San Diego have played in three tournaments together so far this season.

HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER SAYS

UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays in the UC Santa Barbara Invitational April 12-13 at Sandpiper.

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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 III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 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.

Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.