SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The University of California San Diego men's golf team leads by two strokes after 36 holes of play Monday at its own St. Mark Invitational at St. Mark Golf Club in North County. Triton senior Ryan Vaughan is in the same position, tied for first place on the individual leader board.

UC San Diego was on fire in the opening round, finishing 9-under par with a 275, the team's lowest single round score of the season. The Tritons followed with a 6-over 290 in the second round for a total of 565 (-3). They hold a narrow lead over second-place CSUN, which is 1-under with a 567. UC Riverside is third with a 590, 22-over par on the par-71, 6398-yard course.

Vaughan is 4-under with a 138, tied with CSUN's Blake Brothers for the lead. Vaughan fired a career-best 66 in round one and a 72 in round two. It was the second time in his career that he recorded a sub-70 round.

Two other Tritons are in the top five with junior Jared Gross in third at 3-under and freshman Davis Lee in fourth at 2-under. Both are playing as individuals and do not figure in the team's scoring. Gross matched Vaughan with a 66 in the first round. Not only a career-best it was his first round under 70 as a Triton. Lee also posted a round in the 60's, finishing with a 68 in round one.

Freshman Jerry Wu also got in on the 60's action with a 67 in the first frame.

TRITON RESULTS
T-1: Ryan Vaughan (-4, 66-72--138)
3. Jared Gross* (-3, 66-73--139)
4. Davis Lee* (-2, 68-72--140)
T-6. Alex Hanz (E, 71-71--142)
T-6. Jerry Wu (E, 67-75--142)
T-10. Sergi Mata De La Barata Barcons (+2, 71-73--144)
13. Ethan Chen* (+5, 74-73--147)
14. Akira Isayama (+7, 75-74--149)
T-16. Blake Iwaisako * (+11, 77-76--153) 
* playing as an individual

WHAT HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER HAD TO SAY
• I was very pleased with the first round as we shot our best score of the year.
• We had a bit of a letdown in the second round. It was a great lesson to gain the experience so the next time we have a great round we will know how to act which will lead to a much better follow-up performance.
• I'm looking forward to play tomorrow as the lessons learned today should help them play at that higher level.  

TRITON TIDBITS
• Nine players shot in the 60's in the opening round.
• There were 10 eagles over the 36 holes, eight of those coming from the Tritons and four of those coming from Ryan Vaughan and Alex Hanz, who each had two.
• UC San Diego holed two eagles over its previous four tournaments this season.

UP NEXT
The third and final round of the St. Mark Invitational is Tuesday with the first group in the tee box at 6:50 a.m. All action can be followed with live scoring.

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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.