Feb. 26, 2016
SAN DIEGO ââ'¬" The San Diego State men's golf team resumes its spring schedule next week when it participates in the Southwestern Jones Invitational, Feb. 29-March 1, at the par-72, 6,992-yard North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will commence on Monday with the first two rounds in a shotgun start, beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT, while the final 18 holes are slated for Tuesday with tee times off holes 1 and 10. A live scoring link for all three rounds will be available on GoAztecs.com courtesy of Golfstat.
Along with the No. 20 Aztecs, the event features seven additional squads among the top 75 in the latest Golfstat rankings, including USC (6), Oregon (27), Augusta (32), Pepperdine (42), Lipscomb (49), Northwestern (52) and Iowa (68). In addition, SDSU will be afforded an early look at Mountain West rivals Boise State and Fresno State, while Brigham Young, Mississippi State, Sam Houston State, San Diego and Winthrop round out the 15-team field.
Aztec head coach Ryan Donovan will employ the starting lineup of Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy), Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.), Blake Abercrombie (Rocklin, Calif.) and PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii), with the latter two golfers making their first varsity appearance of the spring.
SDSU is coming off a strong third-place showing at The Prestige at PGA WEST, Feb. 15-17, in La Quinta, Calif. The Scarlet and Black bested three top-10 squads in Stanford (5), Duke (6) and Stanford (7) to secure its fifth top-five team finish of the 2015-16 campaign.
Individually, the Aztecs were led by Ree, who recorded his highest placement as a collegian with a runner-up score of 10-under 203. The SDSU senior was one of just two competitors in the field of 81 players to complete all three rounds in the 60s (68-66-69), earning MW Men's Golfer of the Week honors in the process. In addition, the Aztecs received a pair of solid performances from Michelini and Mendoza, both of whom tied for the eighth place at 2-under 211.
For the season, Michelini leads SDSU with a 70.47 stroke average and ranks 35th in the latest Golfstat Cup standings, while Ree (71.00) finds himself in the 68th position.
The Southwestern Jones Invitational is the combination of two previously existing tournaments: the Southwestern Intercollegiate, launched by USC in 1978, and the Jones Invitational, hosted by Pepperdine the last two years.
The Aztecs captured the team title at the Jones Invite in February 2014, after carding a collective 17-over 881 at Saticoy Country Club. Michelini finished a solo second at the event, one shot away from medalist honors at 1-over 217, while Mendoza (+20) tied for 48th.
SDSU last visited North Ranch Country Club in September 2014 when it placed fourth out of 12 schools in the season-opening Southwestern Intercollegiate with a collective 21-over 876. Michelini finished in a logjam for 18th at 7-over 220 on the par-71 layout, while Mendoza tied for 42nd at 13-over 226. In addition, Samiere made his collegiate debut as an unattached golfer at the tournament, tying for fifth out of 72 competitors with a 1-over 214.
The Aztecs were also victorious at the Westlake Village course in 2011 and 2012 when the tournament was known as the North Ranch Intercollegiate. In the 2012 edition, SDSU alumnus Matt Hoffenberg captured medalist honors with a 2-over 212.
Following its excursion to the San Fernando Valley, the Aztecs will have a two-week break from competition before co-hosting the Lamkin San Diego Classic, March 14-15, at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.