SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Freshman Akira Isayama placed 17th and the UC San Diego men's golf team finished seventh as the UC Santa Barbara Intercollegiate concluded Tuesday at Sandpiper Golf Club.

Isayama finished 2-over par with a 218 on the par-72, 7017-yard Sandpiper course. After carding a 76 in Monday morning's first round, he upped his game in the afternoon to fire a 2-under 70. Tuesday, he completed his solid outing with an even par 72 to move up two spots in the standings to 17th. Isayama's 70 was the lowest round score of any Triton. Over 54 holes, Isayama came away with nine birdies, 34 pars, and 11 bogeys.   

As a team, UC San Diego finished with a 24-over par 888. The Tritons shot a 298 Tuesday to go along with rounds of 293 and 297 on Monday. They placed ahead of two fellow Big West Conference teams in CSUN (tied for eighth) and UC Riverside (10th).

Boise State topped the 10-team NCAA Division I field, winning with an 853, 11-under par. The Broncos' 287 in the opening round was the best by any team. Weber State finished a close second, just two strokes back with a 9-under 855. The Broncos and the Wildcats were the only two squads to finish the tournament under par. California Baptist placed third with an even-par 864.

UC San Diego was in fifth place after the first round and seventh following the second.

Boise State's Max Charles was the individual medalist with a 10-under 206 after collecting rounds of 69, 70, and 67. Charles was the only player to record a sub-70 round Tuesday. Isaac Buerger of Weber State, who led the 57-player field at the end of Monday's action, wound up two strokes behind Charles with an 8-under 208. He had rounds of 65, 72, and 71 with his 65 being the best single round of the event. Blake Brothers of CSUN and Hugo Townsend out of Boise State tied for third at 5-under par. 

A total of 11 golfers finished the tournament under par.

Sandpiper played to a 74.28 stroke average over the 54 holes. The third round commanded a 74.75 stroke average, the highest of the three rounds.

TRITON RESULTS
17: Akira Isayama (+2, 76-70-72--218)
T-29: Jerry Wu (+7, 74-73-76--223)
T-34: Ryan Vaughan (+8, 71-77-76--224)
T-41: Sergi Mata De La Barata Barcons (+10, 74-77-75--226)
T-44: Alex Hanz (+11, 74-78-75--227)
51: Jared Gross* (+16, 78-77-77--232) 
* playing as an individual

WHAT HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER HAD TO SAY
• The team showed significant improvement this week. We played more disciplined, which led to better scores than the previous three tournaments we had played in.
• Akira did a really good job of keeping the ball in play, hitting great recovery shots, and making putts.
• The course was challenging and we were just better prepared for that challenge.
• There is a positive vibe that came out of this tournament that will hopefully carry over into the future.

TRITON TIDBITS
• Akira Isayama's 70 in the second round is the low round of his freshman season.
• Overall, Jerry Wu finished even on par-3 holes, which tied with one other player for No. 1.
• For the tournament, Jerry Wu led UC San Diego in birdies with 11 and Ryan Vaughan had a team-high 35 pars. 
• In the opening round, Ryan Vaughan had an eagle on the par-5 first hole, the first of his season and second for the Tritons this year.
• There were 20 eagles during the tourney, four of those coming from four different UC Santa Barbara players and another four from a quartet of different Utah State golfers.

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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.