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April 3, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team returns from a pair of disappointing results in its last two events to compete at The 52nd Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas. The Aztecs (No. 36 Golfweek-Sagarin/No. 40 Golfstat), who recorded their two worst finishes of the season at the March 3-4 Cleveland Golf Classic (T-11th) and the March 24-25 Oregon Duck Invitational (9th), are the second-highest rated team in the 20-team field according to Golfweek. By playing to their ranking and defeating the deep mid-ranked field (10 teams ranked between Nos. 38-89 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings), SDSU has an opportunity to bolster its national standing and pick up victories over a pair of MWC foes, No. 38/34 Colorado State and No. 46/44 BYU.
- Hosted by Texas A&M, The Border Olympics is the second-oldest college tournament in the nation. Since 1984, it has been played at the par-72, 7,125-yard Laredo Country Club.
The Team Focus...
- SDSU is part of a 20-team field that is characterized by mid-level depth, as 12 of the top 100 teams in both the Golfweek and Golfstat ratings will be in action in Laredo. No. 23/21 Arkansas is the top-ranked team in the field, followed by a trio of Mountain West teams in No. 36/40 SDSU, No. 38/34 Colorado State and No. 46/44 BYU and a trio of regional teams in No. 41/47 Baylor, No. 42/41 SMU and 43/48 Lamar.
Border Olympics Field 3/31 4/2 SDSU RecordTeam Rankings Golfweek Golfstat vs. In 02-03San Diego State 36th 40thAlabama-Birmingham 107th 113th 1st meetingArkansas 23rd 21st 1st meetingBaylor 41st 47th 1st meetingBYU 46th 44th 3-1-1Colorado State 38th 34th 2-1Iowa State 84th 91st 1st meetingKansas State 52nd 61st 1st meetingLamar 43rd 48th 0-1Lousiana-Lafayette 131st 127th 1st meetingNotre Dame 102nd 103rd 1-0Rhode Island 130th 137th 1st meetingRice 116th 123rd 1st meetingSouthern Methodist 42nd 41st 1-0Southwest Texas State 134th 138th 1st meetingTexas A&M 62nd 58th 2-0Texas-Arlington 109th 110th 1st meetingTexas Tech 54th 51st 1-0Texas-San Antonio 110th 114th 1-0Washington State 89th 79th 1-3
- San Diego State holds a combined head-to-head record of 12-6-1 against the nine teams in the field it has already faced this season.
- Baylor is the defending champion of the event after running away from the field last season with a 19-under score of 845. The Bears were paced by individual medalist Jamie McLeary, who registered a 9-under total of 207. Ranked No. 127 in the latest Golfweek ratings, McLeary will attempt to defend his title this weekend.
- SDSU finished second at last season's Border Olympics at 6-under 858, 13 shots behind Baylor. The Aztecs were within four shots of the Bears after 36 holes, but shot a final-round 290 while Baylor finished with a 7-under 281 for the final 18. Lars Johansson led the way for SDSU in eighth place at 2-under 214. It was his previous top-10 result before winning the John Burns Intercollegiate earlier this spring. Current Aztecs John Lieber (21st, 218) and Mark Warman (40th, 222) also competed at the Border Olympics last season.
...And The Individual Spotlight
- The Border Olympics individual competition seems much like the team field: not top-heavy, but characterized by several solid mid-ranked players. At No. 30 in the Golfweek standings, Arkansas's Andrew Dahl is the top-rated contender. However, 24 other individuals are ranked among the top 250, including six Aztecs.
- Senior Lars Johansson (No. 166) is the top-rated Aztec on the Golfweek/Sagarin list, followed closely by No. 173 Mark Warman. All told, SDSU has six players among the country's top 250, the most in the field ahead of Arkansas's four.
The Update
- SDSU saw its team and individual stroke averages rise after a ninth-place finish in the miserable conditions at the soggy Oregon Duck Invitational. The Aztecs recorded their worst score of the season (11-over 299) in the final round of the event and had their second-worst final total of the season at 885. With the Laredo forecast calling for sunny skies and high temperatures in the high-80s to low-90s, SDSU will likely battle the other side of the extreme at the Border Olympics.
- Through April 1, Mark Warman (72.71) and Lars Johansson (72.80) ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, in the MWC stroke average race. UNLV's Ryan Moore (71.00) holds a slim lead over New Mexico's Michael Letzig (71.13). In yet another testament to the depth and consistency of the SDSU program, Aztec golfers claimed seven of the nine spots from Nos. 10-18 in the MWC, with little more than half a stroke separating No. 10 Warman (72.71) from No. 18 John Lieber (73.25).
Around The Green
- Despite coming close with a 299 in the final round of Duck Invite, SDSU has not recorded a score in the 300s since a second straight 303 in the second round of the Oct. 8-9, 2002 Club Glove Intercollegiate, a span of 55 rounds.
- Similarly, Lieber's 80 for the final 18 holes of the Duck Invite was his first score of 80 or more since a second-round 80 at the 2002 MWC Championship, a span of 27 rounds. Johansson has a streak of 70 straight rounds below 80, tops on the team by one over Warman (69).
The 52nd Border Olympics
Hosted by: Texas A&M
Site: Laredo C.C. - Laredo, Texas
Dates: Apr. 4-5
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,125
The Field: SDSU, Ala.-Birmingham, Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Colorado St., Iowa St., Kansas St., Lamar, La.-Lafayette, Notre Dame, Rhode Island, Rice, SMU, SW Texas St., Texas A&M, Texas-Arlington, Texas Tech, Texas-San Antonio, Washington St.
SDSU Stroke Averages Avg. Rds.Mark Warman 72.71 21Lars Johansson 72.80 15Andrew Scott 72.96 24Aaron Choi 73.09 23Charlie Smith 73.12 17John Lepak 73.17 24John Lieber 73.25 24Brian Miller 73.53 17Chris Galeski 73.91 11Gilberto Rodriguez 74.18 11
Golfweek/Sagarin (3/31)1. Clemson2. Texas3. UNLV4. Wake Forest5. TCU6. Arizona7. Florida8. Oklahoma State9. Augusta State10. North Carolina36. San Diego State
GCAA Poll (3/26)1. Clemson2. Oklahoma State3. Augusta State4. Texas5. Arizona6. Wake Forest7. TCU8. UNLV9. Florida10. UCLAarv. San Diego State
Golfstat (4/2)1. Clemson2. Texas3. UNLV4. Augusta State5. UCLA6. Wake Forest7. TCU8. Arizona9. Oklahoma State10. Florida40. San Diego State
Golf World Poll (3/21)1. Clemson2. Augusta State3. UNLV4. TCU5. Texas6. Oklahoma State7. Arizona8. Florida9. UCLA10. Wake Forest