Oct. 22, 2002
LAKESIDE, Calif. - Propelled by the play of co-medalist John Lepak, San Diego State came from behind with a final-round 281 to capture the Barona Collegiate Cup today at Barona Creek Golf Course. Spurred by Lepak's 4-under 68 in the final round, the Aztecs reversed a six-shot deficit after 36 holes to a six-shot victory over Denver to claim their first team title of the season.
For Lepak, who shared individual medalist honors with California's Peter Tomasulo at 10-under 216, the result capped off a remarkable comeback to competitive golf. Lepak, a senior from La Habra Heights who won the 2001 Mountain West Conference tournament's individual title, missed all of last season with a back injury and did not swing a golf club for seven months. Yet despite the long layoff, he jumped right back into the Aztec lineup this season and had averaged 73.89 strokes per round entering the Barona tournament. And after he grabbed a share of medalist honors with Tomasulo against an individual field that boasted eight players in both Golfweek and Golfstat's top 100, Lepak has served notice of his return to collegiate golf.
Lepak's 68 tied for the low round of the day, and the Aztecs desperately needed his score as they battled Denver down to the next-to-last hole of the tournament. The teams were tied at 17-under after the 16th hole, but clutch and consistent play up-and-down the Aztec lineup over the final two holes gave SDSU the victory.
Colorado State matched SDSU's 281 for the day and tied for third with BYU at 854. New Mexico, ranked in the top 10 by both Golfweek and Golfstat, took fifth place.
SDSU's first team placed two other individuals in the top 15. Freshman Andrew Scott claimed his second top-ten of the season by placing eighth at 5-under 211, while senior Charlie Smith gave the Aztecs an under-par score for the second straight event as he tied for 14th at 3-under 213. Senior John Lieber shot his second under-par score of the tournament with a final-round 71 to take a share of 24th place at even-par 216, and junior Mark Warman tied for 55th at 222.
Sophomore Aaron Choi led the Aztecs' second team to a share of ninth place by tying for ninth place individually at 4-under 212. Seniors Lars Johansson (216) and Chris Galeski (220) tied for 17th and 46th, respectively, while junior Gilberto Rodriguez (224) shared 64th place and senior Brian Miller (228) placed 77th.
Denver's Shawn Wills had a chance to figure into the individual medalist race, but he double-bogeyed the final hole to share third place at two shots back with Colorado State's Martin Laird (208). Fresno State's Nick Watney, the No. 1-ranked player by both Golfweek and Golfstat, had his streak of four consecutive individual titles snapped as he shot a final-round 74 to finish in a tie for ninth place.
The Aztecs complete the fall season Nov. 4-5 at the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate, hosted by Hawai'i.
Final scores with relation to par Oct. 22 at the Barona Collegiate Cup, played at the par-72, 7,088-yard Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif.
Fin. School Scores 1 San Diego State U. 276 289 281 846 -18 2 Denver, U. of 277 282 293 852 -12 3 Colorado State Univ. 283 290 281 854 -10 Brigham Young Univ. 284 281 289 854 -10 5 New Mexico, U. of 284 286 287 857 -7 6 California, U. of 283 286 289 858 -6 7 Ohio State Univ. 287 290 284 861 -3 8 Texas A&M University 291 288 285 864 E 9 Texas El Paso, U. of 290 287 289 866 +2 SDSU Red Team 294 277 295 866 +2 11 Nevada, Univ. of 285 294 293 872 +8 12 Fresno State Univ. 286 287 300 873 +9 13 Washington State U. 289 294 291 874 +10 14 Louisville, U. of 287 292 297 876 +12 15 N. Car.- Greensboro 289 297 293 879 +15 16 Texas-San Antonio 295 293 300 888 +24 17 Hawaii, Univ. of 296 303 295 894 +30
Top 20 Individuals Fin. Name School Scores 1 John Lepak SanDiegoSt 65 73 68 206 -10 Peter Tomasulo California 66 69 71 206 -10 3 Shawn Wills Denver 67 68 73 208 -8 Martin Laird Col. St. 70 69 69 208 -8 5 Zach Doran Ohio State 70 70 69 209 -7 Andrew Parr Texas A&M 72 68 69 209 -7 7 Ron Harvey, Jr. BYU 67 70 73 210 -6 8 Andrew Scott SanDiegoSt 70 72 69 211 -5 9 Nick Watney Fresno St. 69 69 74 212 -4 Chris Baryla UTEP 71 71 70 212 -4 Jake Lowder NC Greensb 74 70 68 212 -4 Aaron Choi SDSU Red 73 68 71 212 -4 Madalitso Muthiya New Mexico 74 67 71 212 -4 14 Greg Machtaler BYU 70 69 74 213 -3 Dustin White Wash. St. 68 71 74 213 -3 Charlie Smith SanDiegoSt 71 69 73 213 -3 17 Ian Hagen Nevada 70 73 71 214 -2 Michael Letzig New Mexico 69 72 73 214 -2 David Tasker Texas A&M 69 75 70 214 -2 Lars Johansson SDSU Red 73 67 74 214 -2
San Diego State Individuals Fin. School Scores 1 San Diego State U. 276 289 281 846 T 1 John Lepak 65 73 68 206 8 Andrew Scott 70 72 69 211 T 14 Charlie Smith 71 69 73 213 T 24 John Lieber 70 75 71 216 T 55 Mark Warman 73 76 73 222
T 9 SDSU Red Team 294 277 295 866 T 9 Aaron Choi 73 68 71 212 T 17 Lars Johansson 73 67 74 214 T 46 Chris Galeski 74 71 75 220 T 64 Gilberto Rodriguez 74 71 79 224 T 77 Brian Miller 80 73 75 228