The San Diego State men’s golf team started off its season two weeks ago at the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational. The team had a No.17 ranking going into the tournament.
The first day went well for the Aztecs, who finished in fifth place at 15-over 591 on the day. Senior Tom Berry tied for fifth with a score of 1-under 143. Sophomore Xander Schauffele tied for 18th at 4-over 148, while junior Austin Kaiser and freshman Riccardo Michelini tied for 25th at 6-over 150. Sophomore James Holley tied for 53rd at 12- over 156.
SDSU also played well on the second and final day of the tournament. The team was able to stay consistent and finish the tournament in fifth place with a score of 24-over 888. Berry finished at 1-over 217 and tied for sixth. Schauffele finished at 6-over 222 and tied for 18th. Michelini finished at 7-over 223. All three finished in the top 25. Kaiser finished 12-over 228 and tied for 38th and Holley finished at 16-over 232 and tied for 51st. The tournament finish showed the SDSU team has quality players who can compete with big name schools such as the University of Washington and Texas A&M.
The Aztecs’ next tournament was the Ping/Golfweek Preview in Alpharetta, Ga. On the first day, Berry finished in first place, with a score of 3-under 67 including three birdies. Michelini finished at 1-over 71 and tied for 11th place. Freshman Robert Gojuangco finished at 1-over 71 and tied for 46th, while fellow freshman Gunn Yang finished at 5- over 75 and tied for 58th place in the tournament.
The team went into the second day of its tournament hoping to increase its lead, but dropped to ninth place. Berry stayed in first place with a score of 1-under 69 and Michelini finished at 3-over 73 and tied for 29th. Gojuangco finished the tournament at 3-over 73 and tied for 46th, while Schauffele finished at 3-over 73, tied for 60th.
The last day proved very important for the Aztecs. SDSU finished the tournament in ninth place, but Berry stayed consistent and finished in first place, with a score of 2-under 208. He was the only player to finish under par. Michelini finished at 2-over 212 and tied for 12th. The Aztecs’ next tournament is the Oct. 15-16 Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax.
Meanwhile, women’s golf started the season at the Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. SDSU ended the first day at 13th with a score of 25-over 609. Freshman Emma Henrikson finished at 1-over 147 and tied for 14th. Senior Christine Wong finished at 5-over 151 and tied for 36th, while sophomore Kristina Lynn finished at 7-over 153 and tied for 46th.
The Aztecs finished the tournament in 13th place with a score of 43-over 919. Henrikson finished at 5-over 224 and tied for 25th overall, while Wong finished at 10-over 229 and tied for 39th. Lynn finished at 13-over 232 and tied for 49th and junior Maureen Dunnagan finished at 19-over 238 and tied for 76th.
SDSU’s next tournament was the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Vail, Colo., where the Aztecs finished the first day at 14-over 302, good enough for seventh place. Wong finished 2-under 70 and tied for fifth and Lynn finished 3-over 75 and tied for 28th. Henrikson finished 5-over 77 and tied for 45th, while senior Gina Clark and Dunnagan both scored 8-over 80 with a tie at 68th.
The second day put the Aztecs at 31-over 607 and in 10th place. Wong landed a hole-in-one on the 17th hole to move into 16th place. She scored 5-over 77. Henrikson ended up with a 4-over 76 and tied for 42nd. Dunnagan finished 3-over 75 and tied for 50th.
SDSU’s final day ended with a score of 54-over 918 and in a tie for 11th place. Wong finished 4-over 220 and tied for 13th. Henrikson finished 12-over 228 and tied for 36th, while Dunnagan finished 20-over 236 and tied for 65th. The Aztecs’ next tournament is Oct. 8-10 at the Edean Ihlanfeldt in Seattle.
