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Sept. 9, 2002
SAN DIEGO - Aiming for a fourth straight NCAA regional appearance and a trip to the championship, the San Diego State men's golf team, No. 26 in Golfweek's preseason rankings, opens the 2002-03 season at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M.
- Hosted by Mountain West Conference rival New Mexico, the 17-team Tucker field boasts six NCAA championship teams from a year ago, including eighth-place finisher Pepperdine, as well as the entire MWC. The field also holds four of Golf World's preseason Top 25 teams, with No. 4 pick Arizona leading the way.
Time For Revenge
- SDSU has an opportunity to exact some revenge for last season's disappointing playoff elimination in the West Regional. The Aztecs will face off against Texas Tech, which forced a playoff with SDSU for the region's 10th and final NCAA championship berth when Red Raider senior Kyle Willman made a long birdie putt on the final hole. Texas Tech went on to defeat SDSU by two strokes on the first playoff hole.
The Individual Spotlight
- The Aztecs' decorated trio of junior Mark Warman, senior John Lieber and senior Lars Johansson get an early chance to boost their individual rankings when they go head-to-head against some of the nation's most talented collegiate performers at the Tucker. Likely competitors include six of Golf World's Top 50 Players To Watch, including two of this year's major amateur champions, Arizona senior Ricky Barnes (U.S. Amateur) and UNLV sophomore Ryan Moore (U.S. Amateur Public Links), as well as SDSU senior and 2002 MWC Golfer of the Year Lieber.
Last Year At The Tucker
- The Aztecs finished sixth out of 20 teams at last season's Tucker Invite, finishing behind four eventual NCAA championship teams and last year's West Regional No. 1-seeded team, USC. SDSU shot rounds of 290-292-294 for a 12-over-par total of 876. The Aztecs' top finisher was departed senior Brandon Kearney, who finished at 4-over 220 for 20th place, while Lieber and Warman tied for 29th at 6-over 226 and Charlie Smith was 46th at 8-over 224. Johansson was at 2-under after shooting back-to-back rounds of 71 before he had to withdraw due to illness.
Meet The Aztecs
- The 2002-03 edition of the San Diego State men's golf team has the looks of a squad whose time has finally come. All the pieces seem to be in place this season to eclipse the success of a year ago, when the Aztecs finished in Golfweek's final Top 25 rankings and came within a single shot and playoff of advancing to the NCAA Championship.
- The Aztec roster boasts the past two MWC Golfer of the Year selections - 2002 pick John Lieber and 2001 honoree Lars Johansson. In addition, the Aztecs feature 2002 NCAA Championship individual qualifier Mark Warman and former Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and conference first-team selection at Oregon State in 1999, John Lepak, who is coming off a redshirt season to recover from a back injury.
- Adding to that talented core are seniors Brian Miller, who returns from a redshirt season a year ago but who had five top-20 finishes in 2000-01; Chris Galeski, who averaged 73.6 over 12 rounds in 2001-02; and Charlie Smith, who in three fall 2001 events averaged 73.9. Junior Gilberto Rodriguez and redshirt freshman Drew Scott were impressive during team qualifying and cracked the team's initial lineup, while redshirt sophomore Aaron Choi and junior Linus Nilsson add talented depth to the roster.
- The Aztecs also landed prize recruit Chris Cole from Wales, while local products Cory Segall (La Jolla HS) and Kyle Shelly (Torrey Pines HS) as well as talented sophomore and San Jose State transfer Jeff Hansen will likely redshirt in their first seasons in the SDSU program.
Last Year By The Numbers
- According to Golfstat's 2001-02 Division I team rankings, San Diego State finished second nationally in par 5 scoring with a 4.78 average and eighth in par 3 scoring with a 3.17 average. The Aztecs finished as Golfstat's 28th-ranked team with a head-to-head record of 257-26.
- The Aztecs finished 25th in Golfweek's final rankings with a rating of 72.08. Against the nation's 73-ranked schedule, the Aztecs finished third in District 7 and were 9-17-0 against Golfweek's Top 25, 27-33-1 vs. the Top 50, 90-40-1 against the Top 100 and 155-40-1 overall.
Coach Walker
- Head coach Dale Walker is in his third season at the helm of th SDSU golf program. A standout performer for the Aztecs from 1975-79, he has guided the Aztecs to seven tournament titles since taking over as head coach. Walker is assisted by Tim Mickelson, a 1999 Oregon State graduate who also played for perennial powerhouse Arizona State and spent time playing professionally.
William H. Tucker IntercollegiateHosted by: New MexicoSite: UNM Championship Course Albuquerque, N.M.Dates: Sept. 13-14Par: 72Yardage: 6,950The Field: San Diego State, Air Force, Arizona, BYU, Colorado State, Colorado,
UNLV, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Texas A&M,
Texas-El Paso, Texas Tech, Utah, Wyoming
2001-02 SDSU Men's Golf AveragesPlayer Avg. Rds.Gilberto Rodriguez* 71.2 6John Lieber* 72.6 39Mark Warman* 72.6 43Chris Galeski 73.6 12Lars Johansson* 73.4 35Charlie Smith 73.9 9Linus Nilsson 75.5 6John Lepak^ Redshirt Season in 2001-02Drew Scott* Redshirt Season in 2001-02
*Starter at the Wm. H. Tucker Intercollegiate^Will compete as an individual at the Tucker Intercollegiate