March 16, 2014
TUCSON, Ariz. - The San Diego State men's golf team was unable to gain ground during the final round of the National Invitational Tournament on Sunday, tying for the fourth position with a combined score of 13-under par 851 at the OMNI Tucson National Golf Club.
Despite posting their lowest round of the weekend with a 283, the Aztecs finished the event knotted with UNLV, five shots in back of second-place schools Oklahoma State (-18) and SMU (-18), while California (-33) ran away with the team title at the par-72, 7,094-yard Catalina Course.
Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) was SDSU's top performer for the second straight tournament and fourth time this season after landing in a tie for sixth at 6-under 210. Following his victory at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic last week, the Aztec junior seemed poised to make another run at an individual title after notching birdies on three of his first four holes on Sunday. However, Schauffele's momentum was derailed by a pair of bogeys at Nos. 10 and 12 and he wound up settling for a 71. Still, the Scripps Ranch High product managed to log his fifth top-10 finish of the year in seven starts.
Freshman Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) duplicated Schauffele's effort with a final-round 71 of his own to tie for the 17th spot at 2-under 214. The Carlsbad High alumnus drained four birdies on Sunday, but three bogeys on the back nine, including his two finishing holes, limited any significant gains on the leaderboard. Despite the misfortune, DeSantis still climbed two spots for his fourth consecutive top-20 of the spring and sixth of the season.
Not to be outdone, sophomore Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) recorded SDSU's low score on Sunday, firing a 70 over the final 18 holes to finish in a tie for 36th with a combined 1-over 217, along with teammate Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.). Michelini offset three bogeys with five birdies, including three after the turn, to jump eight spots from his standing on Saturday.
Kaiser was not a fortunate, however, slipping 11 slots from the 25th position after carding a final-round 73. The Aztec senior sank two birdies in the morning, but could not replicate the same success on the back nine, recording two bogeys to go along with seven pars.
Rounding out the SDSU lineup was freshman Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.), who finished one shot in back of Michelini and Kaiser in a tie for 39th at 2-over 218. The Francis Parker High product has his score count in the Aztecs' final-round total after posting a 71, highlighted by consecutive birdies on holes 9-11. In addition to its team championship, California also boasted the individual winner as Joel Stalter (-11) claimed medalist honors by three strokes over the trio of second-place finishers in Wyndham Clark of Oklahoma State (-8) and SMU's Bryson Dechambeau and Harry Higgs.
SDSU will have the next two weeks off before returning to action at the U.S. Intercollegiate, March 28-30, in Stanford, Calif.
National Invitational TournamentOMNI Tucson National G.C.Catalina CourseTucson, Ariz.Par 72, 7,094 yardsFinal Results
Team Results (Top 5 of 14 schools)1. California 268-281-282--831 (-33)T2. Oklahoma State 282-288-276--846 (-18)T2. SMU 290-275-281--846 (-18)T4. San Diego State 284-284-283--851 (-13)T4. UNLV 284-287-280--851 (-13)
Individual Results (Top 5 of 81 players + SDSU)1. Joel Stalter, California 68-71-66--205 (-11)T2. Wyndham Clark, Oklahoma State 68-72-68--208 (-8)T2. Bryson Dechambeau, SMU 68-72-68--208 (-8)T2. Harry Higgs, Wake Forest 71-67-70--208 (-8)5. Brandon Hagy, California 64-77-68--209 (-7)----T6. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 70-69-71--210 (-6)T17. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 74-69-71--214 (-2)T36. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 71-76-70--217 (+1)T36. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 74-70-73--217 (+1)T39. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 69-78-71--218 (+2)