STOCKTON, Calif. - UC San Diego wrapped up a solid performance at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational Saturday, finishing fourth of 17 teams with three golfers placing in the top 15.
Pacific hosted the 54-hole tournament at The Reserve at Spanos Park.Â
The Tritons shot an impressive 19-under par over three days of play.Â
On the individual front, junior
Justin Gill led the team with his fifth-place finish. He was 7-under with rounds of 67, 69, and 73 on the par-72 layout.
Senior
Nathan Tseng and freshman
Hanjie Yu went 5-under par and placed in a tie for 13th. Senior
Davis McDowell, who won his second career tournament earlier this season, tied for 23rd at 2-under and senior
Francis Catalano tied for 34th at 2-over par.
Pacific was the runaway team winner as the Tigers shot 47-under par with rounds of 12-under, 25-under, and 10-under. Colorado (-27) was a distant second and the University of San Diego (-22) was third.Â
Pacific's Felix Bouchard earned the individual title as the Tiger ended his tournament at 12-under. The host school owned the top three spots as Deitrek Gill (-11) took second and Ian Fritz (-10) was third.
Of the 96-player field, 29 finished below par.
The Tritons were tied for fifth after Thursday's opening round and moved into a tie for second following Friday's second round.Â
TRITON STANDINGS
tie-5.
Justin Gill, -7 (67-69-73--209)
tie-13.
Nathan Tseng, -5 (70-67-74-211)
tie-13.
Hanjie Yu, -5Â (72-66-73--211)
tie-23.
Davis McDowell, -2 (72-69-73--214)
tie-34.
Francis Catalano, +2 (73-70-75--218)
FRED SAID
"The tournament was a great experience for the team. In round two we shot 17-under par and four of the five guys shot in the 60's. That put us in the premier pairing for the final round with some outstanding teams like Pacific and Colorado. Playing with that type of pressure is new for us and something that we need to get used to given that we are going to be in that situation throughout the season. The lessons we learned in this tournament about being patient, disciplined, and playing your own game will bode well for our next tournament and the rest of the season. We have a team that really is supportive of one another and are constantly pushing each other towards greatness, which is definitely the direction we are heading." -
Head Coach Fred Hanover
TRITON TIDBITS
• There were six Big West teams in contention - UC San Diego (4th), UC Santa Barbara (8th), CSUN (11th), Cal State Fullerton (tie-13th), UC Riverside (tie-13th), and UC Irvine (16th).
• It marked the third time that UC San Diego has competed in this tournament (2022, 2024). This year's 4th-place finish was the team's best.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego wraps up its fall competition slate at the Kapolei Invitational. The tournament is set for Nov. 5-6 at the Kapolei Golf Club, located about 20 miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawai'i on the island of O'ahu. The Tritons played this event in 2023 and finished eighth in the 19-team field.
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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.
