KINGSBURG, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's golf team improved one spot to finish 12th while Davis McDowell improved eight spots to finish 20th as the Nick Watney Invitational wrapped up Tuesday.

Fresno State hosted its annual tournament at Kings River Country Club in California's Central Valley.

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego carded a 289 (+5) to go along with Monday's rounds of 294 (+10) and 287 (+3) for a total of 870, 18-over par on the par-71, 6,623-yard course. The Tritons were 13th coming into today's final round.

McDowell fired a 2-under 69 after shooting 72 (+1) and 71 (even) Monday. He finished with a 1-under 212 to place 20th after coming into the day in 28th. 

TRITON RESULTS
T-20. Davis McDowell, -1 (72-71-69--212)
T-48. Nathan Tseng, +4 (74-71-72--217)
T-63. Kyle Dougherty, +8 (75-73-73--221)
T-71. Elliot Bunyaviroch, +10 (74-74-75--223)
T-71. Jerry Wu, +10 (74-72-77--223)
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T-54. Ethan Chen, +6 (73-75-71--219) (playing as an individual)

THE WINNERS
Long Beach State, ranked 77th nationally, finished 30-under par with an 822 to take the win in the 16-team field. Cal State Fullerton was five strokes back in second at 25-under while the host Bulldogs were third at 22-under.

Long Beach State's Ian Gilligan defeated Cal State Fullerton's Harry Doig on the second hole of a playoff to earn individual medalist honors. The duo both totaled a 199, 14-under, to force the playoff.

Six teams ended the tournament under par.

Grand Canyon's Nicky Kling was just a stroke back in third place.

Twenty-nine players in the 93-competitor field finished under par.

TRITON TIDBITS
• There were seven Big West teams competing this year including Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara.
• Tseng, a freshman, was playing in his first collegiate tournament.
• This is the second-straight year that UC San Diego had played in this event.
• Bunyaviroch, Chen, and McDowell all played in last year's Nick Watney, which was held at San Joaquin Country Club.
• UC San Diego placed 12th of 14 teams last season while freshman Francis Catalano was the top Triton performer, tying for 36th.

UP NEXT
Following a week off UC San Diego travels to Los Angeles County to compete in the Bill Cullum Invitational. CSUN is hosting the tournament at the Oaks Club of Valencia. The Tritons competed in this tourney in 2021 and 2019 as well.

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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.