CHICO, CALIF. - On Tuesday, October 3rd, the Sonoma State men's golf team concluded play at the 2023 Wildcat Classic hosted by Chico State. The Seawolves picked up where they left off and put together a historic first round, shooting 15-under as a group to take a commanding lead Monday morning. However, as SSU made the turn for their second round on Monday, they would drop eight shots and finish the round with a 296 (+8) putting them in a tie for first heading into the final day. On Tuesday, assistant coach Jess Stimak would get the boys back into red figures with a 284 (-4) as the Seawolves would hang on for a second place finish. The Wildcat Classic has been good to Sonoma State as they placed third in last year's event with two players finishing inside the top five.
FIRST AND SECOND ROUND
The Seawolves would take advantage of terrific playing conditions and great weather as they recorded the second lowest team round in program history. Three of the team's starting five would record rounds of 5-under-par or better to lead the early charge. Junior
Colin Huang put together a bogey free round recording four birdies and an eagle on the par 5 10th to finish 6-under-par. Senior
Lucas Happy also continued his momentum after his first collegiate win two weeks prior and matched Huang with a 66 of his own. Happy recorded a team high eight birdies with six of them coming on the front nine. Also under par was first year member
Jack Brown who finished with seven birdies and a 4-under back nine.
The teams 273 (-15) would fall just behind the program record set in 2022 when the Seawolves put together a 272 (-16) at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational.
SSU would grind through the second round but drop eight strokes to bring themselves into a tie with Chico State at 7-under to conclude the first day. Happy would record the low round at even par and first year member
Cole Kroeker would finish with a 73 (+1).
FINAL ROUND
Chico State would pull away late in the final round on Tuesday as they finished with the second lowest team round of the day at 7-under-par. The Seawolves would hold their position in second place and finish in red figures once again, putting together a 284 (-4) final round. They would fend off a surging Cal State East Bay by one stroke.
Happy, Huang and Kroeker would record rounds under par to lead the way. Kroeker put together his best round of the tournament, recording four birdies and an eagle to finish 3-under-par. Junior and second year member
Ryan Stewart would compete as an individual for the Seawolves and finish in a tie for 47th place. His best round came on Monday as he put together a solid 73 (+1) and finished the second round with a pair of birdies.
Full Sonoma State results can be found below:
LOOKING AHEAD
The Seawolves recorded their second straight finish inside the top three to start the 2023 season. They will look to continue their success as they travel to Hawaii for back-to-back tournaments hosted by PacWest members Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo. The first event kicks off on Sunday, October 22nd. Live scoring links and results can be found at sonomaseawolves.com.
Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation
