After the final rounds of competition, the CSUN men and women’s golf teams each managed to place in the top 10.
The men’s team hosted the 2005 Bill Cullum Invitational, which was held in Simi Valley, and tied for 10th place in the first two rounds. The Matador Black Team moved up by tying for sixth in the final round of play, while the Red Team started off by finishing ninth in the first round, but ended up in 12th place.
The women’s golf team competed in the Rancho Grande Cal Poly Invitational, which was located in Arroyo Grande. CSUN placed 10th in the first round and was able to end up in ninth to conclude the event.
The Matador women’s team ended three shots out of eighth-place, secured by UC Davis, the team leader after the opening-round. Sophomore Jennifer Yoo was tied for 18th, carding an opening-round 78, and was the only CSUN golfer who managed to break 80. On the front nine, Yoo was able to shoot just five over par and finished with a score of 42. But she was able to improve on the back nine by finishing up the day with a 36.
Following Yoo, junior Jasmine Koehler tied for 30th after a round of 80, while sophomore Lucy Davies and senior Carin Ernby both shot 87. Senior Kristin Smith struggled with a round of 88. Sophomore Jameliz Torres was tied for 48th after a first-round 84.
“Before the rounds, my coach and I set goals,” Yoo said. “My goals were to stay in regulation and have under 30 putts. Even though I didn’t start out the front nine so great, I managed to shoot even on the back nine by staying in regulation and just thinking simple.”
After finishing the opening round in eighth place, the women’s team finished the tournament by moving up two places in the standings to sixth. Yoo finished the two-round tournament in a tie for 24th-place at +13. She concluded the second round by carding an 81.
“I honestly didn’t play well in this Cal Poly tournament,” Yoo said. “It wasn’t such a great round, but golf is golf. You will have one of those days that don’t seem to go right. After great rounds at the San Diego tournament, I felt confident about my game, but still I knew I had a lot to work on.”
Following the lead of Yoo, Torres, finished tied for 32nd at +15, after rounds of 84 and 77. Koehler was a shot behind Torres at +16, finishing in 35th place. Davies rebounded from a first round 87 to score an 80 in the second and finished 49th at +21. Smith was able to improve from Monday’s opening round, as she shot an 82 after a tough round of 88. Smith placed 52nd at +24, while Ernby rounded out the Matador scoring, finishing tied for 61st at +27.
“My plans for my next tournament is to be prepared and have a solid game ready in my hands,” said Yoo, looking toward the next tournament starting in the spring
In the first two rounds for the men’s golf team, the Red Team carded a team score of 608, good for ninth place.
Leading the way was senior Josh Lipman’s five-over-par 149. Out of the two rounds, freshman Dean Tonneslan was able to shoot a one- under-par 71 in the opening round, recording the best round of any Matador golfer. Leading the men’s Black Team, senior Doug Miller and freshman Erik Jarvey tied for 34th at +10. Miller shot identical rounds of 77 and Jarvey shot a 79 in the first and a 75 in the second round of tournament play, placing the Black team in 10th place after two rounds.
“Our main focus was the management of holes,” said men’s head coach Jim Bracken. “We had to pursue various options in order to be successful throughout the tournament.”
Changing the pace for the Matador men’s Black team, junior Joe Lopez and company carded a solid final round to move into a tie for sixth, while the CSUN Red Team finished 12th.
Lopez was the highest finisher for the Black team, as he tied for 22nd at +12, and fired the low Matador round of the day, with a one-over-par 73. During this tournament, Lopez managed to battle a fever in order to compete at his best.
“Honestly I didn’t think I would do well at all in this tournament,” Lopez said. “I had a fever at the start of it. I did much better than I expected, but I just remembered to focus and not let my sickness interfere with the way I play golf.”
“Joe played well, the fever didn’t really effect his play and he was able to lead the way,” Bracken added.
The men’s next tournament will also be played during the spring, but Bracken is optimistic that they will improve and will be looking for more success in the future.
Charles Keeranan can be reached at charles.keeranan.87@csun.edu.
