March 10, 2013
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team returns to action this week when it plays host to the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic, March 11-12. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be conducted at the par-72, 7,033-yard San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.
The Aztecs are among of a field of 14 teams competing in the sixth annual event. Four of the schools are ranked in the nation's top 50 by Golfstat.com, including No. 19 TCU, No. 26 Texas Tech, No. 27 Missouri and No. 49 Arizona State. Rounding out the list of competing squads are Arizona, Louisville, Oregon State, Pepperdine, co-host San Diego, Texas-Arlington, Utah, while local schools Cal State San Marcos and Point Loma Nazarene will be represented as well.
Day one will feature a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. PDT, while the final round gets underway Tuesday with tee times on holes No. 1 and No. 10 as early as 8 a.m. Live results for both days will be available courtesy of Golfstat on www.goaztecs.com.
SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan's starting lineup will feature senior Tom Berry (New Haw, England), junior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.), sophomore Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) and freshmen Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and Robert Gojuangco (San Diego, Calif.). In addition, four Aztecs will participate as individuals, senior Cameron Tennant (Woodland Hills, Calif.), junior James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), sophomore Jacob Gralitzer (Agoura Hills, Calif.) and freshman Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.)
Berry is the only veteran of SDSU's starting five to have played in the San Diego Classic last season, finishing at 8-over 224 to tie for the 21st position. Meanwhile, Tennant competed as an individual, tying for the 62nd spot after logging a 20-over 236. As a team, the Aztecs tied for fourth place with Tennessee, trailing champion Washington, USC and UCLA.
The Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic is entering its sixth season and third as a two-day, 54-hole event. The tournament, previously known as the San Diego Intercollegiate, was christened in 2008 primarily as an opportunity for local schools to compete against one another. The event has now expanded from local competition to host teams from all across the nation.
This is the fourth time and third year in a row that the San Diego Classic will take place at San Diego Country Club. The inaugural event took place at the Chula Vista course and moved to the La Jolla Country Club in 2009 and The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., in 2010. Before becoming a two-day tournament in 2011, the tournament was a one-day, 36-hole competition.
USD took home the team title in 2008 and 2010, Point Loma Nazarene in 2009, SMU in 2011, while Washington grabbed the top spot in 2012.
Following the San Diego Classic, the Aztecs will head east for the Don Puckette National Invitational Tournament, March 16-17, in Tucson, Ariz.