PULLMAN, WASH. - The UC San Diego golf team moved up a spot in the standings to finish 10th Wednesday at the Palouse Collegiate.

Triton Francis Catalano followed suit, jumping up 13 places into 15th among the 90-player field.

Washington State University hosted the 15-team tournament at Palouse Ridge Golf Club.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons finished 8-under par on the par-71, 7,302-yard course. They went 1-under in Tuesday's first round and improved by five strokes in the second round. After 36 holes, UC San Diego was in 11th place.

Catalano entered Wednesday in 28th place after shooting 3-under Tuesday. His 4-under 67 in the final round accounted for his 13-step elevation on the leader board. 

Utah ran away with the team title, going 52-under par. Colorado (-34) was second and Oregon State (+28) placed third.

Eleven teams finished under par over 54 holes.

Individually, Utah's Sergio Jimenez was the winner at 21-under. He shot a 10-under 61 in the first round. Jimenez was followed by teammate Gabriel Palacios in second. He was 15-under. In third was Kristof Panke of Wyoming at 14-under.

TRITON RESULTS
T-15. Francis Catalano, -7 (71-68-67--206)
T-37. Akira Isayama, -1 (71-70-67--208)*
T-46. Kyle Dougherty, E (70-67-76--213)
T-46. Davis McDowell, -2 (69-71-73--213)
T-68. Nathan Tseng, +4 (73-74-70--217)
T-78. Adriel Abaoag, +9 (77-72-73--222)

*Playing as an individual and does not count in the team scoring.

WHAT HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER HAD TO SAY
"It was a great tournament with a strong field. Francis played very well and Akira also had a good outing. Both of them had two rounds under par. Hopefully that play will carry over to the Air Force event, which starts next week."

TRITON TIDBITS
• Freshman Adriel Abaoag was playing in his first tourney as a Triton.
• It was the first time that the Tritons have played this tournament. 
• There were four Big West squads in contention - CSUN (15th), Idaho (11th, affiliate member), Sacramento State (8th, affiliate member), and UC San Diego (10th).

UP NEXT
UC San Diego travels to Colorado for the Falcon Invitational. The event is hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy, Sept. 21-23, at Eisenhower Golf Club in Colorado Springs.It will be the second-straight season that the Tritons have played in the tournament. 

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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.