FINAL RESULTS
NAPA, Calif. -- Brandon Lee rolled in a 30-foot putt on the 18th hole to secure the Sonoma State men's golf team an upset victory over No. 1 Chico State, 3-2, in the Match Play semifinals of the 2016 CCAA Golf Championships on Tuesday at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa.
Lee,
Kenny Maroney and
Justin Shluker all defeated their Wildcat counterparts for the three points needed in the best of five Match Play format, advancing the Seawolves to Wednesday's final against Cal State East Bay, which upset Stanislaus State, 4-1, also on Tuesday.
Click here for the post-match interview with SSU head coach
Val Verhunce, which includes video of Lee's match-clinching putt on the 18th hole.
The Seawolves were simply on fire Tuesday as all five players shot no worse than one-over-par (both Shluker and
Spencer Clapp fired 73's). Lee's birdie on 18 finalized a two-under 70 as both Maroney and
Nicolas Daniels brought in 72's. Maroney beat his opponent Colby Dean by seven shots, Shluker won by five strokes over Matt Hutchins and Lee snuck by Lee Gearhart by a single swing of the club.
Unfortunate for Clapp and Daniels, however; Clapp's 73 was one more than the 72 scored by Alistair Docherty, the eighth-ranked player in Division II, and the 72 by Daniels was no match for the 67 of Justin Wiles, who tied for first in Monday's 36-hole stroke play event, but lost in a two-hole playoff to CSUEB's Adam Stone just before sundown Monday.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, Sonoma State will battle with Cal State East Bay for the CCAA title. The Seawolves are looking for their third CCAA championship, and their first since 2009, the year in which they also captured their first and only NCAA title. The winner of Wednesday's Medal/Match Play final will earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championships, first playing for the West/South Central Regional championship on May 2-4 at the University of New Mexico Golf Course in Las Cruces. The top five teams in the 20-team regional field will then advance to the NCAA Division II Championship finals May 17-21 at Green Valley Ranch in Denver, Colorado.
It will begin at 8:30 am Wednesday when
Kenny Maroney tees off, followed by
Justin Shluker (8:40 am),
Brandon Lee (8:50 am),
Spencer Clapp (9:00 am) and
Nicolas Daniels (9:10 am).
Live results of Wednesday's final can be found by
clicking here or going to the SSU men's golf schedule page.
