VICTORIA, Texas – The No. 5 Cal State San Marcos men's golf team came back from three strokes down to win its second Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Championship on Tuesday at Victoria Country Club.
CSUSM posted 6-over 294 to finish at 12-over 876 (292-290-294), outlasting second-round leader Ashford (Iowa) and No. 4 British Columbia by three strokes. AU (292-297-300) and UBC (292-292-295) both registered a three-round total of 15-over 879.
Dylan Healey, who led by six heading into the final round after scores of 66 and 69 on Monday, shot 1-over 73 to win the individual title by six strokes over Lawren Rowe of Victoria (B.C.). Healey is the first CSUSM player to win A.I.I. medalist honors; his total of 8-under 208 is the lowest score by a Cougar in A.I.I. Championship history and it is the fourth-lowest score vs. par in program history, period.
It seems fitting that the Cougars won what will be their last A.I.I. Conference title today at Victoria CC, the same place where
they won their first in 2013. CSUSM is headed for the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and NCAA Division II.
CSUSM receives an automatic berth into the NAIA National Championship (May 19-22) in Daytona Beach, Fla. – the squad's final competition as an NAIA institution.
"Our guys were prepared today and we played the way I expected we would," said CSUSM head coach
Greg Hutton. "We knew what the conditions were going to be like because we played the Claude Jacobs Invitational here in February and we were able to deal with them because we knew what to expect."
Ryan Odom had the lowest round of the day for the Cougars, coming in with an even-par 72. His total of 6-over 222 handed him a share of ninth place overall, his third consecutive top-10 finish in the A.I.I. Championship. Odom tied for fourth as a freshman in 2013 and was runner-up as a sophomore.
Scott Shefflette matched Healey's 73 and tied for 13
th at 7-over-par 223 (76-74-73).
TJ Masters' 4-over 76 rounded out the team scoring for CSUSM. He tied for 17
th at 10-over 226 (76-74-76).
Aaron Bronis tied for 24
th overall (74-80-78 – 232, +16).
"This is a great way to cast off our golf programs as we move off into Division II. To come back from Texas with a men's championship and an individual champion on both the men's and women's teams is pretty incredible," said Hutton.
The
CSUSM women's team took second place in its A.I.I. Championship tournament across town at The Club at Colony Creek. Vanessa Chap became the CSUSM women's golf program's first-ever individual conference champion after a 2-under 70 on the final day.
Healey was named All-A.I.I. First Team for finishing in the top-five. Odom took home All-A.I.I. Second Team honors for finishing in the top-10.
Team Leaderboard
1. Cal State San Marcos 292-290-294 – 876, +12; T2. Ashford (Iowa) 292-287-300 – 879, +15; T2. British Columbia 292-292-295 – 879, +15; 4. Victoria (B.C.) 296-301-286 – 883, +19; 5. Houston-Victoria 304-288-301 – 893, +29; 6. SUNY Delhi 312-315-319 – 946, +82; 7. Northern New Mexico 369-359-377 – 1105, +241.
Individual Leaderboard
1. Dylan Healey (CSUSM) 66-69-73 – 208, -8; 2. Lawren Rowe (UVIC) 71-71-72 – 214, -2; 3. Scott Secord (UBC) 71-73-71 – 215, -1; 4. Vance Edwards (UHV) 73-73-72 – 218, +2; 5. Alex Cartwright (UVic) 75-74-70 – 219, +3; T6. Conner Kozak (UBC) 70-74-76 – 220, +4; T6. Evan Holmes (UBC) 76-71-73 – 220, +4; 8. William Truss (UHV) 75-71-75 – 221, +5; T9. George Long (AU) 71-77-74 – 22, +6;
T9. Ryan Odom (CSUSM) 77-73-72 – 222, +6; T9. Trent Abraham (UBC) 71-73-78 – 222, +6;
Other individual scores: T13. Scott Shefflette (CSUSM) 76-74-73 – 223, +7;
T17. TJ Masters (CSUSM) 76-74-76 – 226, +10;
T24. Aaron Bronis (CSUSM) 74-80-78 – 232, +16.
