Nov. 5, 2008
Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational (complete results)
STOCKTON, Calif. - Sophomore Austin Graham and freshman Tyler Raber each shot 3-under 68s on Wednesday to help UC Davis to a 4-under 280 - the lowest team score of the day - as the Aggie men's golf team rallied five places to finish second at the Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational.
UC Davis, which was 10 shots off the pace and in seventh place after Tuesday's second round, picked up strong days from Graham and Raber as well as even-oar 71 from Brent Booth and identical 73s from Nate Pistacchio and Ramie Sprinkling to card its 4-under score.
The Aggies' round was the best among the 12 teams in the final round and the second-best of the three-day tournament. Fresno State had a 279 on Monday. UC Davis, ranked 15th by Golfstat, battled No. 49 Kansas State for the top of the leaderboard most of the day Wednesday with the Wildcats winning by three strokes at 1-over 853.
Graham jumped 13 places in the final standings with his 68, tying for seventh at even-par 213. Booth and Pistacchio tied for ninth at 214 while Sprinkling and Raber tied for 30th and 39th, respectively. Raber climbed 16 spots by carding his best round of the fall.
The strong finish delivered UC Davis its third consecutive runner-up finish, capping a five-tournament fall campaign which saw it start the season by winning the Kansas Invitational. Ramie Sprinkling, Austin Graham and Nate Pistacchio each earned medalist honors this fall with the latter two each receiving Big West Golfer of the Month accolades over the past two months.
Graham did not post a score higher than par in the final round, finishing with three birdies and 15 pars for his 68. Raber had four birdies and just one bogey in matching Graham's round. Booth, who had his second top-10 finish this year, had one birdie and just one bogey for his steady finish of 71. Sprinkling had three birdies while Pistacchio tallied a pair, both ending their tournament with 73s.
Tenth-ranked Mike Van Sickle of Marquette earned medalist honors with a 4-under total of 209, winning by a stroke over Michael Buttacavoli of Rice and Grant Doverspike of Fresno State.
UC Davis will return to action with the spring portion of its schedule, beginning at the Waikoloa Intercollegiate at Hawail-Hilo in February.
STOCKTON SPORTS COMMISSION PACIFIC INVITATIONAL
Stockton, Calif. (hosted by Pacific)
Brookside Country Club
par 71; 6,757 yards
Final
TEAM
1. Kansas State, 285-286-282-853
2. UC DAVIS, 290-586-280-856
3. Rice, 283-283-293-859
4. Fresno State, 279-292-288-859
5. Oregon, 284-286-293-863
6. BYU, 285-288-292-865
7. Cal State Northridge, 287-288-292-867
T8. UC Santa Barbara, 292-296-285-873
T8. Pacific, 290-292-291-873
T8. Marquette, 292-288-293-873
11. Sacramento State, 287-299-293-879
12. Texas-San Antonio, 297-302-292-891
INDIVIDUALS
1. Mike Van Sickle, Marquette, 70-70-69-209
UC DAVIS
T7. Austin Graham, 73-72-68-213
T9. Brent Booth, 72-71-71-214
T9. Nate Pistacchio, 69-72-73-214
T30. Ramie Sprinkling, 76-71-73-220
T39. Tyler Raber, 78-76-68-222
