March 7, 2002
LOMPOC, Calif. -- John Lieber, Mark Warman and Scott Henderson all finished the opening day of play at the Bite/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate below par powering the 20th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team to a six-stroke lead at the La Purisma Golf Course Thursday.
The Aztecs, who last month opened the spring with a victory at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii, shot a combined 4-under par 572 and lead Cal State Bakersfield (2-over 578) by six shots. UC Davis (3-over 579) stands seven strokes back in third place, while No. 8-ranked Fresno State (8-over 584) is 12 back in fourth heading into Friday's third and final round.
"We played well on a difficult golf course," said SDSU head coach Dale Walker. "Anytime you're in first you have to be happy, but I'd feel better if we had a larger lead. We just have to stay patient and not be overly aggressive tomorrow.
Lieber, who has now shot par or better in eight straight competitive rounds, turned in San Diego State's best round of the day, firing a second-round 69. He and Warman, two of only eight players to complete Thursday's 36 holes below par, are tied for third at 3-under 141. Henderson is just two shots back in fifth at 1-under 134.
Lars Johansson finished up at 3-over 147 and is 24th, while Brandon Kearney shot 9-over 153, good for 62nd.
The third and final round of the Bite/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate tees off at 9 a.m. Friday.
Men's College Golf
Bite/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate
La Purisma Golf Course
Par: 72, Yardage: 7,105
Team Results
1. San Diego State (572), 2. Cal State Bakersfield (578), 3. UC Davis (579, 4. Fresno State (584), 5. Pacific (586), 6. Nevada (587), 7. UC-Irvine (593), 8 UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Riverside (597), 10. New Mexico State (598), 11. Cal Poly (599), 12. Denver (600), 13. San Francisco (601), 14. Long Beach State (604), 15. Colorado State, San Jose State (606), 17. CS-Northridge (607), 18. Santa Clara (609), 19. Wyoming (612).
Top-5 Individuals
1. Jason Higton, Pacific (138), 2. Ron Killmer, CSUB (139), 3. John Lieber, SDSU, Mark Warman, SDSU (141), 5. Scott Henderson, SDSU, Nick Watney, FSU, Brian Thornburg, NMSU, Ian Hagen, Nevada (143).
Other San Diego State Individuals
24. Lars Johansson (147), 62. Brandon Kearney (153).