Originally Published October 30, 2007

Cal State Northridge freshman Nick Delio became the first Matador golfer to win a tournament in more than seven years Tuesday, as he took the individual medalist honors at the SCU Invitational at Silver Creek Valley CC in San Jose. The Matadors finished in fourth place as a team.

Delio dominated, shooting rounds of 69-67-67 for a three-round total score of 13 under-par 203, winning by six strokes. The last Matador to win a tournament was Anthony Marciano, who won the Big Sky Championship by four shots in 2000.

Head coach Jim Bracken was happy a freshman won the tournament, giving him confidence in the future of the team.

“This was the first individual win for one of our golfers in seven years, which is a nice accomplishment,” he said. “It’s great to have a freshman end the draught. Hopefully it’s the first of many for Nick in the future.”

After rounds of 288-293-287, the Matadors finished with a total score of +4, 868. The Matadors fourth place finish was their second best finish of the season, after finishing in second place earlier in the year at the Angel Park shootout in Las Vegas.

Portland, who finished in second place at last week’s Bill Cullum Shootout at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley, claimed the team title with a final score of 858, edging out the tournament host Santa Clara by just one stroke.

CSUN’s team finish was a drastic improvement from last week’s twelfth place finish.

“It was definitely a good rebound after last week’s tournament,” said Bracken. “This was a total team effort. It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

For the Matadors, junior Chris Satterlee and freshman Jason Rosenkranz also finished in the top 20. Satterlee carded rounds of 75-76-67, for a three-round total of 2 over-par 218, tying him for 17th place. Rosenkranz finished in a tie for 19th place after shooting rounds of 71-76-72 for a total score of 3 over-par 219. Also for the Matadors, Aaron Hobbs finished in a tie for 31st with a six over-par 222, Jeff Freund finished tied for 47th with an 11 over-par 227, and John Gilles finished tied for 59th with a 16 over-par 232.

Next up for the Matdors golf team will be The Pacific Invitational in Stockton, CA, Nov. 5-7.