May 17, 2002
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Sophomore Mark Warman (San Clemente/San Clemente HS) fired a 2-under-par 70 and junior John Lieber (San Diego/Grossmont HS) and senior Brandon Kearney (San Diego/USDHS) each shot 2-over 74 as the San Diego State men's golf team carded a combined 8-over 296 during the second round of the NCAA West Regional Friday.
Constant wind and tough greens held down scores across the board on the University of New Mexico's Championship Golf Course (par 72; 7,368 yards) as no team was able to break par. In fact, Warman's 70 was one of just 13 below par finishes in the 142-player field Friday.
The Aztecs, second after Thursday's opening 18 holes, head into Saturday's third and final round tied with Arizona for fourth with a two-day total of 9-over 585. The two teams are just three shots behind tournament leader UNLV, which turned in the best team round of the day, a 4-over 292, to take the top spot at 6-over 582. Fresno State stands second, one stroke back of the Rebels at 7-over 583, with Washington in third at 8-over 584.
"The course played very tough today and that resulted in some spotty play for us, especially early on," said SDSU head coach Dale Walker. "But we battled down the stretch and were 3-under on the final hole. We showed a lot of heart once we hit the turn and I'm happy with the way we finished."
In the individual title race, Arizona's Ricky Barnes sits atop the leaderboard at 7-under-par 137. Warman remains well within striking distance and is tied with four players for second at 2-under 142. Kearney is the only other Aztec in the top 20 and stands tied for 13th with a two-round total of 1-over 145.
The third and final round of the West Regional gets underway at 7:12 a.m. (MDT). As the No. 4 team in the standings, the Aztecs will hit the links at approximately 7:30 a.m. (MDT). The top 10 teams along with the low two individuals not on those teams will move on to the 2002 NCAA Men's Golf Championships in Columbus, Ohio, May 29-June 1.
Men's College Golf
2002 NCAA West Regional
Championship Golf Course
Albuquerque, N.M.
Par: 72; Yardage: 7,368
Second Round Team Results
1. 582-UNLV. 2. 583-Fresno State. 3. 584-Washington. T4. 585-San Diego State, Arizona. T6. 588-Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas, UCLA. T10. 589-Pacific, Pepperdine. T12. 592-Nevada, Oregon. 14. 593-Ohio State. 15. 594-California. 16. 595-Texas Tech. 17. 597-Southern California. 18. 598-Washington State. 19. 600-Stanford. 20. 601-Brigham Young. 21. 606-Arizona State. 22. 607-Illinois State. 23. 610-Colorado State. T24. 613-Detroit Mercy, UC Irvine. T26. 629-Central Conn. St., IU-Purdue U.-Indy.
Top- 5 Individuals
1. 137-Ricky Barnes (Ariz.). T2. 142-Mark Warman (SDSU), Jonathon Echols (FSU), Jason Hartwick (Tex.), Justin Smith (Minn.). T6. 143-Aaron Byers (Ore.), Zach Doran (Ohio St.), Ben Scribner (Pacific), Nick Watney (FSU).
Other SDSU Individuals
T14. 145-Brandon Kearney. T37. 148-John Lieber. T59. 150-Lars Johansson. T119. 156-Scott Henderson.