March 23, 2004
JUNCTION CITY, Ore. - San Diego State posted a 287 in Tuesday's final round, the best score of the day, to clinch its first tournament title of the season at the Oregon Duck Invitational behind the medalist performance of sophomore Jeff Hansen. SDSU entered the day tied with host Oregon but finished with a six stroke advantage for the Aztecs' first team title since the 2002 Barona Collegiate Cup. Hansen claimed SDSU's first varsity individual title of the season with a five-under par total of 211, including a 71 on Tuesday. Senior Mark Warman also had an outstanding tournament placing third after shooting 213 and the final three Aztecs placed 20th, 24th, and 26th, respectively.
The victory was a much needed one for the Aztecs after struggling in the past three tournaments. SDSU recorded two second place finishes during the fall, but had placed no higher than seventh since the last tournament in the fall.
"It was a great win for us," said head coach Ryan Donovan. "We knew we were capable of winning all season long so it was good for us to go out and perform. We just put together three solid rounds. The course was playing tough and we responded as a team as everybody played well."
It was not only the first win in Hansen's career, a sophomore who transferred from San Jose State and then redshirted last season, but also his first top-20 finish in nine events. However, Hansen's stroke average is still the second best on the squad as it dropped to 72.27 in 15 rounds after the past two days. Hansen opened up the tournament with a one-under 71 in the first round before shooting a three-under 69 in the afternoon on Monday, but still trailed by two strokes going into today's round. His final round of 71 was good enough to propel him to a one stroke win.
Warman posted his second straight top-3 finish and placed in the top-five for the eighth time in his four-years at SDSU. Warman shot a steady 70-72-71 to finish two strokes behind Hansen at three-under 213. It was the fifth time this season he has finished in the top-10 and he leads the Aztecs with a 71.14 stroke average.
The final three Aztecs all contributed to the Aztec scoring. Freshman Aaron Goldberg counted each of his three rounds as he fired 76-73-74 to finish at seven-over par 223 and in 20th position. Goldberg's solid play was a continuation from his last two JV events where he posted a win and a third place finish over the last month. The top-20 was the first in three varsity events for Goldberg this season.
Chris Cole counted a second round 71 and finish in 24th place with a 224 total. It was the second event Cole has played in for SDSU and the second time he has placed in the top-30. Aaron Choi rounded out the scoring for SDSU as he posted an even par 72 in the first round and a one-under 71 in the final round. However, Choi placed 26th at 225 after an 82 on Monday afternoon.
SDSU travels to Laredo, Texas for the Border Olympics next weekend, Apr. 2-3. The Aztecs placed third at last year's event.