TURLOCK, CALIF. - The Sonoma State Men's golf team traveled to Turlock for the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational on Monday and Tuesday. The starting lineup featured
Alec Padilla,
Ryan Stewart,
Aidan Oliver,
Jules Lavigne, and
Griffin Pace as well as
Nick Friedman competing as an individual. The Seawolves looked to this tournament as a possible turning point with a fresh lineup and healthy minds. Unfortunately, they did not find the turnaround they were looking for and would battle through tough conditions for a 10th place finish.
The first round got off to a rocky start. The counting scores were as follows; Oliver 76 (+4), Lavigne 77 (+5), Pace 79 (+7), Stewart & Padilla 81 (+9). Friedman also shot a respectable 77 (+5) as an individual. A first round score of 25-over-par placed them second to last with a score of 313 and some work to do in the final two rounds.
The men tried to turn it around and did so very nicely in the afternoon round on Monday. Pace bounced back and shot a two-under-par 70, the team's lowest score of the tournament. Both Oliver and Lavigne shot a respectable 74 (+2). Stewart rounded out the lineup with a comeback 76 (+4), cutting his first round score in half. Friedman also shot a nice second round recording a 75 (+3), finishing the day with good consistency. With a solid 294 (+6) and the team's first round-under-par from Pace, the Seawolves would shave off nearly 20 strokes from their opening round and jump three spots into 12th place.
With firm greens and lots of wind, the course continued to play harder as the tournament went on. Pace continued to put up good numbers as he carded a one-under-par 71, his second straight round under par. Lavigne also handled the conditions well and posted a one-over-par 73. Padilla managed to turn things around and shot 77 (+5) and Oliver would round out the four with a 78 (+6).
The Seawolves remain a top ranked team in the nation and a force in the west region as they look to conclude their regular season on a high note in the NCAA West Regional Spring Preview. Sonoma State will play host to the event at Foxtail Golf Club on April 10th and it will act as a tune-up before the official NCAA regional in May.
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