EL MACERO, Calif. - Freshman Ryan Knop fired three birdies over his final five holes for a 3-under 69 while senior Luke Vivolo shot a 71 and tied for seventh as the UC Davis men's golf team tuned up for the upcoming Big West Championship with a third-place finish Sunday at its own El Macero Classic.

Jesse Bratz, playing as an individual, also tied for seventh.

The Aggies had just one of two team scores in the final round under par, shooting a 1-under 287 for a 22-over 886 total. Oregon State went 6 under for the other and finished second at 20 over, eight shots back of champion Texas Tech (+12).

Vivolo was 3 over for the championship and posted a top-10 finish for the second time in his last three tournaments. Knop's spectacular round, which was the Aggies' best of the week, tied him for 18th at 7 over and gave him his third top-20 placing in his last four events. Patrick Soli had his third in a row, tying for 10th at 5 over after shooting 72 on Sunday.

Ben Corfee tied for 50th at 14 over after coming in with a 75 and Nicholas Noya shot 79 to tie for 53rd at 15 over. The Aggies got a great performance from Bratz who shot a 2-under 70 and tied for a career-best seventh at 3 over.

Two other Aggies played as individuals as well. Evan Knight posted a 74 and tied for 27th while Brandon Baumgarten also had a 74 and tied for 42nd at 13 over.

UC Davis was the tournament's defending champion.

"From a team standpoint, we need to be a much better wedge and short game team," said head coach Cy Williams. "It's time to put in some quality work the next two weeks to prepare for Big West Championship. We're better than what we displayed this weekend."

Ryan Books of TCU and Oregon State's Kevin Murphy tied for first place in the 90-player field by shooting par over the tournament's 54 holes before Books took home medalist honors after winning a sudden-death playoff on the first hole.

Knop enjoyed a solid front nine, thanks to two birdies that helped him make his turn at 1 under. He was even after 13 holes before back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes and another on the par-5 18th pushed him below 70. Vivolo had a very steady round, getting a birdie on the first hole and then stringing 13 straight pars before a birdie and bogey down the stretch.

Soli had three birdies while playing both the front and back nine even, Corfee was just 1 over on the front and Noya was only two shots over par on the back. Bratz enjoyed a great round, going bogey-free with three birdies over the first 11 holes and then shooting two birdies over his last four. Knight had three birdies while Baumgarten had one in their final rounds.

The 15-team tournament provided a showcase for El Macero Country Club, which serves as the home course for the Aggie men's and women's golf teams. Williams was pleased with the tournament.

"Everything about the event was awesome," he said. "The community and the members put on a great show and made the teams feel welcome. The course was in championship condition."

UC Davis will compete in the Big West Championship beginning May 2 in Simi Valley, California.