Sept. 22, 2001
ALBUQUERQUE - The San Diego State men's golf team finished sixth at the New Mexico-hosted William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., with a team total 12-over par 876.
New Mexico won the tournament at five-under par with team rounds of 278, 294 and 287. Pepperdine finished a far second at six-over par (291, 289, 290), followed closely by Arizona at seven-over par (288, 298, 285) for third and a two-team tie for fourth between UNLV (292, 292, 288) and USC (291, 294, 287) at eight-over par.
The Aztecs were led by Brandon Kearney with a four-over par performance with rounds of 71, 74 and 75 that landed him in 20th place with four other golfers. John Lieber (72, 77, 73) and Mark Warman (76, 74, 72) tied for 29th place after firing a six-over par 222. Charlie Smith finished the tourney in 46th place at eight-over par (77,73,74). Lars Johansson, who led the team after the first day with rounds of 71 and 71, withdrew from tournament for unknown reasons.
Manuel Merizalde of BYU took the individual win after firing a tournament-low 66 in the third round moving him from a fifth-place finish after the first day for the victory. New Mexico's Wil Collins (67, 74, 71) and Michael Letzig (68, 73, 71) held on to their second-place tie at four -under par. USC's Kevin Stadler (72, 73, 68) and Jason Allred (72, 72, 69) of Pepperdine tied for fourth place at three-under par.
The Aztecs will make the short trip to Fresno to compete in the Lexus Golf Classic, Oct. 5-6.
Teams Scores 1. New Mexico 278-294-287=859 (-5), 2. Pepperdine 291-289290=870 (+6), 3. Arizona 288-298-285=871 (+7), 4. UNLV 292-292-288=872 (+8), USC 291-294-287=872 (+8), 6. San Diego State 290-292-294=876 (+12), 7. Colorado 289-292-302=883 (+19), 8. Colorado State 288-303-293=884 (+20), 9. BYU 298-297-290=885 (+21), 10. New Mexico JV 293-302-291=886 (+22), 11. Arizona State 293-301-297=891 (+27), 12. Oregon State 300-299-297=896 (+32), 13. Southeastern Louisiana 300-295-304=899 (+35), 14. Texas A&M 293-309-302=904 (+40), 15. Wyoming 301-307-298=906 (+42), 16. New Mexico State 299-309-300=908 (+44), 17. Texas- El Paso 301-304-304=909 (+45), 18. Air Force 306-304-300=910 (+46), 19. Utah 302-308-312 (+58), 20. Hawaii 309-309-305=923 (+59).
Top-10 Individuals 1. Manuel Maerizalde (BYU) 72-71-66=209 (-7), 2. Wil Collins (New Mexico) 67-74-71=212 (-4), 2. Michael Letzig (New Mexico) 68-73-71=212 (-4), 4. Kevin Stadler (USC) 72-73-68=213 (-3), 4. Jason Allred (Pepperdine) 72-72-69=213 (-3), 6. Brian Nosler (Arizona State) 71-72-71=241 (-2), 6. Andy Smith (Southeastern Louisiana) 67-72-75=214 (-2), 6. Kipp Richle (Arizona) 74-69-71=214 (-2), 9. Ryan Moore (UNLV) 72-72-71=215 (-1), 10. Ricky Barnes (Arizona) 73-75-69=217 (+1), 10. Jim Anderson (New Mexico) 73-72-72=217 (+1), 10. Ben Hayes (USC) 73-75-69=217 (+1).
San Diego State Individuals 20. Brandon Kearney 71-74-75=220 (+4), 29. John Lieber 72-77-73=222 (+6), 29. Mark Warman 76-74-72=222 (+6), 46. Charlie Smith 77-73-74=224 (+8), WD. Lars Johansson 71-71-WD