SANTA ROSA, CALIF. - On Wednesday, April 24th, the Sonoma State men's golf team took a one stroke lead into the final round of the 2024 CCAA Golf Championships but Cal State Monterey Bay would shoot 9-under on the day to jump two spots and claim the conference tournament title. The Seawolves would finish 3-under on the day and hang on for a 2nd place team finish, solidifying their spot in the NCAA regional next month.
Sonoma State grinded through a windy afternoon on Monday and finished round one in a tie for 4th place with some work to do. Cal State San Marcos had a stellar day at 12-under but cooler conditions would soften the greens on Tuesday and Wednesday and allow for some great scores in the final two rounds.
SSU would propel themselves into first place after Tuesday's round with a team score of 11-under-par led by second year transfer
Colin Huang who recorded the team's low round of the tournament at 5-under. He finished the day with 6 birdies and helped give the Seawolves a one stroke lead heading into the final round Wednesday morning.
After an 8-over round on Monday,
Ryan Stewart would bounce back nicely with a round of 3-under-par on Tuesday to help contribute to the team's push up the leaderboard.
Lucas Happy and
Ivan Sablan combined to shoot 3-under-par on the day as well, helping set the table for a dramatic finish in the final round on Wednesday. San Marcos and Monterey Bay were just three strokes back after the second round.
After teeing off on the back nine for the final round, the Seawolves would shoot 3-under through the first three holes highlighted by a pair of birdies from senior
Lucas Happy. After a bogey on three, Happy would birdie again on the par 4 7th to finish his final round at 3-under-par, moving himself 7 spots up on the individual leaderboard.
SSU had three players finish the final round in red figures but Monterey Bay exploded early in the round to finish the day 9-under-par and jump two spots to take the tournament title. The Otters had a clutch performance from the individual champion who recorded a final round of 68 (-4), finishing the tournament at 10-under-par.
Colin Huang was the group's other top-10 finisher at 3-under-par and
Ivan Sablan finished his first conference tournament at even par.
Cole Kroeker and
Ryan Stewart got better and better throughout the week as both recorded rounds under par on Wednesday to place inside the top-27. The Seawolves were down just two strokes heading into the final two holes but the Otters came up clutch with three birdies on the short par 4 9th, to extend their lead to three strokes. Full SSU results can be found below:
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State's 2nd place finish was their best since winning the conference tournament in 2022. They will now await their seeding for the NCAA West/South Central regional and make their 11th straight regional appearance. This year's NCAA regional will take place in New Mexico starting on Wednesday, May 8th. Additional tournament information can be found at sonomaseawolves.com.
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