March 8, 2002
LOMPOC, Calif. - Two years ago, the San Diego State men's golf team held a five-stroke lead heading into the final round of play at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate and let victory slip through its fingers.
Today the Aztecs battled cold and windy conditions that made a tough La Purisma Golf Course even more difficult but made sure history didn't repeat itself.
Junior John Lieber and sophomore Mark Warman each shot final-round 73s and senior Scott Henderson finished up with a 74 as San Diego State carded a 6-over par 294 during Friday's third and final round to win the Bite/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate.
It is the second straight tournament victory for the 20th-ranked Aztecs, who finished the two-day event with a three-round total of 2-over 866, 12 strokes better than 8th-ranked Fresno State (14-over 878), which took second.
"We didn't play as well as we could half, but on the positive side we did what we had to do to win and we had three players finish in the top five," said SDSU head coach Dale Walker, who has now guided the Aztecs to five wins in less that two years at the helm. "We gave away some shots and we have a lot to work on but a win is a win."
Lieber, who was making a bid for his second straight individual title, finished tied with Warman for second at 2-under 214, just two stokes behind medalist Jason Higton of Pacific (4-under 216).
Henderson's three-round total of 1-over 217 was a career-low and placed him fifth overall, a career-best finish for the senior.
Junior Lars Johansson climbed three spot during Friday's play, placing 24th at 7-over 223. Senior Brandon Kearney also moved up on the leaderboard, moving from 62nd to 43rd and closing out the tournament at 11-over 227.
The San Diego State men's golf team returns to action on March 18-19 when the Aztecs play in the USD Tournament in Vista.
Men's College Golf
Bite/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate
La Purisma Golf Course
Lompoc, Calif.
Par: 72, Yardage: 6,603
Final Team Results
1. San Diego State (866), 2. Fresno State (878), 3. UC Davis (884), 4. CSU Bakersfield (886), 5. Pacific (890), 6. UC Irvine, Nevada (899), 8. San Jose State, Denver (902), 10. Colorado State (903), 12. UC Riverside (906), 13. UC Santa Barbara, New Mexico State (908), 15. Cal Poly (911), 16. Long Beach State (912), 17. Santa Clara (925), 18. Wyoming (926), 19. CSU Northridge (937).
Final Top-5 Individuals
1. Jason Higton, Pacific (212), 2. John Lieber, SDSU, Mark Warman, SDSU (214), 4. Ron Killmer, CSU-Bakersfield, 5. Scott Henderson, SDSU (217).
Other San Diego State Individuals
21. Lars Johansson (223), 43. Brandon Kearney (227).