April 21, 2008
Big West Conference (results and live scoring)
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. -- Freshman Austin Graham had back-to-back rounds of 1-under 71 on Monday and is third while teammate Nate Pistacchio is just one shot back and tied for fourth as the UC Davis men's golf team ended the first 36 holes of the Big West Conference Championship knotted with UC Irvine atop the leaderboard.
The Aggies - playing in their first-ever Big West Championship - and the Anteaters are tied at 5-under 571 heading into Tuesday's final round. Both teams are 17 shots ahead of third-place Pacific and 18 in front of Cal State Northridge which is fourth.
Graham and Pistacchio are joined in the top 10 by both Gregg Button and Matt Marshall who are tied for seventh at par. Junior Ramie Sprinkling is tied for 15th at 3-over 147.
The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA West Regional on May 15-17 at Bremerton, Wash. The Aggies are in their first year of NCAA postseason eligibility at the Division I level.
Graham got the Aggies off to a good start at this year's championship with his two rounds of 71. He rallied for his 1-under score in the first round by posting three birdies on the back nine before starting his second 18 holes with three straight birdies to help make the turn at 3-under 33. He had seven pars and two bogeys on the back.
Pistacchio had a 71 in his opening round, carding a birdie on the par-4 18th to close it out. Four birdies in his second round - including three straight on the ninth through 11th holes helped him shoot a 72 in the afternoon. Marshall had 10 birdies over his 36 holes while posting matching 72's.
Gregg Button, who had 75 in the morning's round, rallied strong in the second round, finishing with a team-best 69 after shooting a 4-under 32 on the back nine thanks to five birdies. He is at 2-over 144. Sprinkling had had six birdies in his two rounds including three over the first nine holes of his afternoon round.
Sean Shahi of UC Irvine leads the tournament at 6-under 138 with teammate John Chin just one shot behind. UC Santa Barbara is in fifth in the team standings and is followed by UC Riverside, Cal Poly and Long Beach State.
BIG WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Tijeras Creek Golf Club
Par 72, 6,918 yards
36 of 54 holes
TEAM
T1. UC Davis, 287-284-571
T1. UC Irvine, 286-285-571
3. Pacific, 296-292-588
4. Cal State Northridge, 289-300-589
5. UC Santa Barbara, 296-296-592
6. UC Riverside, 298-297-595
7. Cal Poly, 304-299-603
8. Long Beach State, 310-310-620.
INDIVIDUALS
1. Sean Shahi, UCI, 68-70-138
UC DAVIS
3. Austin Graham, 71-71-142
T4. Nate Pistacchio, 71-72-143
T7. Matt Marshall, 72-72-143
T7. Gregg Button, 75-69-144
T15. Ramie Sprinkling, 73-74-147
