SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Improving three spots since Monday, the UC San Diego men's golf team placed eighth and senior Ryan Vaughan tied for ninth as the UCSB Collegiate Classic wrapped up Tuesday at Sandpiper Golf Club.

The tournament, hosted by UC Santa Barbara, was originally slated for 56 holes, but windy conditions at Sandpiper forced the cancellation of Monday's second round and the event was shortened to 36 holes, 18 on Monday and a final 18 Tuesday.

UC San Diego totaled an even 600, 24-over par on the par-72, 7,040-yard layout. The Tritons shot a 19-over 307 Monday, leaving them in 11th place after the opening round. Tuesday, they improved by 14 strokes, coming in with a 293, just 5-over par.

Vaughan also improved his position in the standings Tuesday, rocketing up an incredible 19 spots on the leader board. He finished with a 1-over par 145, shooting rounds of 75 and 70. Vaughan was tied for 28th heading into today's final 18 holes.

True freshman Francis Catalano also placed in the top-20, tying for 17th with a 3-over 147. He shot a 69 today, improving by nine strokes over his first round 78. Catalano actually doubled Vaughan's meteoric rise in the standings, moving from 55th to 17th, a difference of 38 spots.

UC San Diego had six other players on course, three counting towards the team total and three playing as individuals.

The three Tritons playing for the team were redshirt freshman Davis McDowell (tied for 45th), junior Elliot Bunyaviroch (tied for 70th), and Jared Gross (tied for 75th).

Competing as individuals from UC San Diego were sophomore Davis Lee (tied for 37th),  senior Ethan Chen (tied for 70th), and senior Sergi Mata (79th).

CSUN and Grand Canyon shared the team title, each finishing at even par with a 576 to best the 14-team field. The 'Lopes shot a 282 Tuesday, the low round of the day, to move from fifth into first. The Matadors owned the lead by themselves after Monday's round. Sacramento State took third with a 579 (+3).

Grand Canyon's Matteo Cristoni was the individual medalist after firing a tournament-best 65 Tuesday to go along with Monday's 74 for a 5-under par 139. Cristoni was tied for 21st prior to teeing off today.

Just five players out of 84 finished under par for the tournament.

There were five Big West Conference squads competing including Cal Poly, CSUN, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.

It was the second consecutive tournament for the Tritons that had been derailed because of inclement weather. Last week, the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay in Washington was reduced to a single round as rounds one and two were canceled after high winds pummeled the course.

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WHAT HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER HAD TO SAY
"We had a tough day yesterday. However, we had a great dinner last night, got a good night's sleep and we showed great improvement today. Ryan and Francis really played well and moved up from yesterday to lead the team. Both were very patient and took advantage of the downwind holes. It was windy again today, so their scores of 70 and 69 were especially good. Hopefully, our strong play will carry over to next week as the UC Davis tournament will have a very strong field."

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TEAM STANDINGS
T1. CSUN, E (576)
T1. Grand Canyon, E (576)
3. Sacramento State, +3 (579)
4. California Baptist, +8 (584)
5. Gonzaga, +14 (590)
6. Utah State, +18 (594)
7. Weber State, +23 (599)
8. UC San Diego, +24 (600)
T9. UC Santa Barbara, +25 (601)
T9. Northern Colorado, +25 (601)
11. Cal Poly, +26 (602)
12. Dixie State University, +31 (607)
13. Southern Utah, +41 (617)
14. UC Riverside, +44 (620)

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TOP 3 INDIVIDUALS
1. Matteo Cristoni, Grand Canyon, -5 (139)
T2. Ethan Davidson, Sacramento State, -4 (140)
T2. Eirik Thomassen, CSUN, -4 (140)

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THE TRITONS
T9. Ryan Vaughan, +1 (75-70--145)
T17. Francis Catalano, +3 (78-69--147)
T45. Davis McDowell, +8 (75-77--152)
T70. Elliot Bunyaviroch, +14 (79-79--158)
T75. Jared Gross, +16 (83-77--160)

*T37. Davis Lee, +6 (73-77--150) 
*T70. Ethan Chen, +14 (80-78--158)
*79. Sergi Mata, +18 (84-78--162)

* Playing as an individual

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UP NEXT
The Tritons close out their 2021-22 campaign next week as they compete at UC Davis' El Macero Classic, April 20-22 at El Macero Country Club. 

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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 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.