CARLSBAD, Calif. - The University of California San Diego men's golf team put together two days of solid play to finish second by one stroke at its own UC San Diego Invitational Tuesday at La Costa.

The Tritons had two players inside the top-10 including redshirt freshman Davis McDowell, who placed second overall and was just a single stroke out of the top spot.

Sacramento State was the team winner while San Diego State's Justin Hastings was the individual medalist.

Six of the 14 teams in contention were out of the Big West Conference including CSUN, Hawaii, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara. The competitor field was comprised of 89 golfers.  

------

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons posted their best two rounds of the season Monday, carding a 279 and a 280 to finish day one on top of the leader board at 17-under par, six strokes ahead of Sacramento State. The hosts shot a 296 in Tuesday's third and final round, but the Hornets countered with a 289 to eke out the come-from-behind victory.

UC San Diego and Sacramento State were the only two squads to finish under par for the tournament. Weber State and Utah State tied for third place at 9-over par, 18 strokes behind the Tritons.

McDowell finished 8-under par with a 208 after shooting rounds of 69, 67, and 72. His 67 was the low round by any Triton. He was 8-under and in first place following Monday's two rounds.

Hastings, who was playing as an individual as San Diego State did not have a full team at the event, totaled a 207, 9-under par, with rounds of 70, 69, and 68.

Blaze Akana from Sacramento State rounded out the top-three with a 5-under par 211.

Triton Francis Catalano, a true freshman, tied for eighth place with a 214 (-2). His round-by-round numbers were 68, 72, and 74. The highlight of his tourney was a hole-in-one on the par-3, 244-yard 12th in the opening round.

Two more Tritons were among the top-20 finishers as senior Ryan Vaughan tied for 12th and junior Elliot Bunyaviroch tied for 20th. 

San Diego State's Liam Koeneke, the 2021 UC San Diego Invitational champion, finished in a tie for eighth along with Catalano.

Eleven players were under par for the tournament on the par-72, 7,151-yard Champions Course at La Costa. The course played to a 74.86 stroke average, which included a tournament-high 75.97 Tuesday.

------

TRITON RESULTS
2. Davis McDowell, -8 (69-67-72--208)
T8. Francis Catalano, -2 (68-72-74--214)
T12. Ryan Vaughan, E (71-71-74--216)
T20. Elliot Bunyaviroch, +3 (73-70-76--219)
53. Jared Gross, +9 (71-76-78--225)
-
T28. Jerry Wu, +4 (74-73-73--220) (playing as an individual)
T43. Sergi Mata, +7 (77-76-70--223) (playing as an individual)
T47. Ethan Chen, +8 (74-74-76--224) (playing as an individual)
T69. Davis Lee, +10 (75-79-77--231) (playing as an individual)
T76. Akira Isayama, +18 (80-76-78--234) (playing as an individual)
T78. Alex Hanz, +19 (75-79-81--235) (playing as an individual)

------

TEAM RESULTS
1. Sacramento State, -10 (289-276-289--854)
2. UC San Diego, -9 (279-280-296--855)
T3. Weber State, +9 (282-289-302--873)
T3. Utah State, +9 (291-280-302--873)
5. UC Santa Barbara, +10 (293-282-299--874)
T6. Yale, +11 (292-285-298--875)
T6. UC Irvine, +11 (286-288-301--875)
8. CSUN, +16 (295-280-305--880)
9. Dixie State, +21 (294-292-299--885)
10. Hawaii, +22 (298-292-296--886)
11. Florida A&M, +23 (295-299-293--887)
12. UC Riverside, +30 (295-297-302--894)
13. Prairie View A&M, +42 (313-289-304--906)
14. Chapman, +80 (316-307-321--944)

------

INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER



------

UC SAN DIEGO INVITATIONAL HISTORY
March 22-23, 2021 | La Costa (Champions Course)
• Team Champion: Utah State, +29 (299-294-300--893)
• Individual Medalist: Liam Koeneke, San Diego State, +2 (70-73-75--218)
• Complete Results

------

UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to Washington State to compete at Seattle University's Redhawk Invitational, which takes place April 4-5 at Chambers Bay. 

------

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 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.