PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- UC Davis sophomore
Thomas Hutchison defeated Ned Jensen, 3 and 1, in the final round of match play at the Northern California Golf Association Match Play Championship at Spyglass Hill Golf Course Friday afernoon. This is the 115th-annual running of the tournament, which began with stroke play on Monday.
Hutchison becomes the first Aggie to win this tournament since Matt Seramin captured it in 2014. The mathematics major and 2017 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year captured the No. 31 seed in the draw, then successfully defeated Joshua McCarthy (2 and 1), Michael Slesinski (1 up), Austin Fox (2 and 1) and Matt Cohn (4 and 3) to advance to Friday's final match up with Jensen.
Hutchison played under the affiliation of the Club at Santa Teresa GC, but wore his UC Davis colors for the final round.
Jensen, the No. 32 seed of the bracket, defeated another Aggie, freshman
Daniel Kim, to reach the final round. Kim captured a sudden-death playoff in the quarters to move into the final four, then lost in similar fashion to Jensen in Thursday's semifinal play.
Overall, three UC Davis players competed in the NCGA Amateur tourneys during the week. Alumnus John Watson advanced to the semifinals of the NCGA Senior Amateur Match Play Championship. Watson was a third-team All-American back in 1978, and the namesake of the team's John and Diane Watson Short Game Training Center at El Macero Country Club.
Hutchison's victory in the match play tournament comes on the heels of another triumph in his family: his older sister and the reigning Big West Golfer of the Year, Samantha Hutchison, won the California Women's State Championship in Ojai on August 15.
The Aggies open their 2018 season on September 7-9 at Air Force's Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
