Feb. 8, 2015
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team opens its 2015 spring schedule this week when it plays host to the Barona Collegiate Cup, Feb. 9-10, in Lakeside, Calif. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be contested on the par-72, 7,324-yard Barona Creek Golf Club with two rounds on Monday, followed by the final 18 holes on Tuesday. Both days are scheduled to commence with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. PT.
The Aztecs, who enter the event with a No. 37 ranking in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, will tee off for the first two rounds alongside crosstown foe San Diego, Pacific and Seattle University, while Bowling Green, Illinois State, Sacramento State, San Francisco, South Dakota State, Texas-Arlington, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara round out the 13-team field. A live scoring link courtesy of Golfstat will be available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU's entire 12-man roster will be competing at this week's tournament, featuring the starting lineup of senior Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.), sophomore Brian Song (Beverly Hills, Calif.), freshman PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii), senior James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.) and sophomore Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.).
Aztec head coach Ryan Donovan will also have seven golfers participating as individuals, including juniors Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and Michael Koeneke (San Diego, Calif.), sophomore Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.), along with freshmen Blake Abercrombie (Rocklin, Calif.), Wonje Choi (San Diego, Calif.) and Pablo Matesanz (Irun, Spain). In addition, junior Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.), a mid-year transfer from Oregon, will make his debut in a Scarlet and Black uniform.
Schauffele, who leads the squad with a 71.92 scoring average, was the Aztecs' top finisher in three of four tournaments last fall, including a runner-up performance at the Husky Invitational in Bremerton, Wash., where he carded a 4-under 212.
Meanwhile, Samiere (73.33) is the only other SDSU golfer to have competed in all four events this year, highlighted by a fifth-place showing as an unattached player last September at the season-opening Southwestern Intercollegiate in Westlake Village, Calif., where he posted a 1-over 214.
Elsewhere, Song will be making his just his second-ever start for the Aztecs after tying for 30th in his inaugural varsity appearance last October at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif., where he fired a 4-over 217.
This season marks the 12th installment of the Barona Collegiate Cup, which has been revived following a two-year hiatus. San Diego State has captured the team title on four occasions since the event was christened in 2001, highlighted by three consecutive crowns from 2010 to 2012. In addition, the Aztecs were victorious in 2002 as John Lepak (-10) shared medalist honors with California's Peter Tomasulo. SDSU also boasted an individual champion in 2012, when All-American J.J. Spaun (-14) captured the third of his five career titles.
Following the Barona Collegiate Cup, SDSU will return to the fairways next week when it competes in The Prestige at PGA West, Feb. 16-18, in La Quinta, Calif.