LA QUINTA, Calif. - Consistent play over 54 holes led the UC San Diego men's golf team to a seventh place finish in the team's first-ever appearance at the Big West Championship, which wrapped up Tuesday.

The Tritons finished five over par on the par-72, 7100 yard course at La Quinta Country Club in the Coachella Valley. They tied for seventh with CSUN in the 12-team field.

UC San Diego was tied for seventh after Sunday's opening round and alone in seventh after Monday's second 18.

Individually, Kyle Dougherty was the top finisher for UC San Diego, placing in a tie for 15th among 72 golfers. He was one under, shooting even par in rounds one and two and one under in today's third round. Justin Gill also landed in the top 20, placing 20th at one over.

Long Beach State, ranked 22nd in the nation, won its third consecutive league title, finishing 22 under par, a new Big West Championship record. The previous mark was -22, set by UNLV back in 1994.

Cal State Fullerton, which led the field after rounds one and two, placed second, five strokes behind The Beach. UC Davis and UC Irvine tied for third at eight under.

The individual medalist was Long Beach State's Krishnav Chopraa at 16 under par. He led wire-to-wire and was seven strokes better than second place Dylan Ma from UC Santa Barbara. Chopraa fired a 63 in the first round, a 66 in the second, and closed his run with a 71.

Chopraa's teammate Charlie Forster, ranked 31st nationally, placed fourth at six under. He also shot a nine under 63 today.

In total, five teams and 17 players finished the tournament under par.

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TRITON STANDINGS
tie-15. Kyle Dougherty, -1 (72-72-71)
20. Justin Gill, +1 (72-71-74)
tie-34. Akira Isayama, +4 (78-71-71)
tie-34. Nathan Tseng, +4 (76-71-73)
52. Francis Catalano, +11 (75-75-77)

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HEAD COACH FRED HANOVER INTERVIEW

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TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons are now able to compete in postseason action as they completed a mandatory four-year exclusion as part of the school's transition to NCAA Division I.
• The top five finishers were named to the All-Tournament Team.
• UC San Diego was coming off its first Division I win at the El Macero Classic earlier in April.
• It was the fifth straight season that the Big West Championship has been held at La Quinta.

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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.