May 17, 2001
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The 26th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team is tied for fourth after firing a combined 289 (+1) during the first round of the NCAA West Regional Championships Thursday at the par 72, 7,060-yard Trysting Trees Golf Course in Corvallis, Ore.
The Aztecs are tied with No. 8 Arizona and UCLA and are just six strokes behind No. 6 Arizona State which leads the field at minus-5 283.
SDSU was led by junior John Lieber and senior Scott Piercy. Both are tied for 10th at one-under-par 71. Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Lar Johansson turned in the next best Aztec finish, ending the day at 1-over 73. John Merrick of UCLA leads the individual field at 5-under 67.
The top-10 teams and the top two individuals from the three 27-team regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship, May 30-June 3 in Durham, N.C. SDSU has advanced to the NCAA Championship on 11 occasions, most recently in 1999.
The second round begins at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, with the final 18 holes being played Saturday.
Team Standings:
Arizona State 283, Stanford 284, Wake Forest 288, San Diego State 289, Arizona 289, UCLA 289, Oregon State 290, Washington 290, UC Irvine 290, Pepperdine 293, UNLV 294, Austin Peay 295, Detroit Mercy 295, Brigham Young 296, Tennessee 297, Colorado State 297, South Carolina 298, Pacific 298, USC 298, Fresno State 298, California 302, Nevada 302, Weber State 302, Oregon 302, New Mexico 305, Navy 310, Oral Robert 312.
Top Individuals:
1. John Merrick, UCLA 67
2. Jin Park, Arizona St. 69
Philip Rowe, Stanford 69
3. Cortland Lowe, Wake Forest 70
Brent Wanner, Wake Forest 70
Jess Maytham, Detroit 70
Matt Jones, Arizona St. 70
Chris Nallen Arizona 70
Derek Berg, Washington 70
SDSU Individuals:
10. Scott Piercy 71
10. John Lieber 71
36. Lars Johansson 73
50. Brian Miller 74
74. John Lepak 75