Results

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A rough final round handed the Cal State East Bay men's golf team a sixth-place showing at the Sonoma State Invitational on Tuesday. Playing in their last tournament of the fall campaign, the Pioneers dropped from third to sixth on the final day and finished with a team total of 908 (+56) in the seven-team event.

East Bay had two of its best rounds of the season to open the tournament on Monday, carding a team total of 297 (+13) in both the first and second rounds. The total was just 10 strokes shy of the Pioneers' season best of 287, set in the final round of last week's Dennis Rose Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii. The final round at the par-71 Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club, however, saw Cal State East Bay add 17 strokes and drop from third place to sixth on Tuesday. 

Despite the third-round struggles, Blake Ahlin led the Pioneers, placing 16th in a field of 44 individuals. The junior paced East Bay for the first time this season, tying his season low with an even 71 in the first round on Monday. Ahlin finished the first day one-over and tied for second place overall, but his third-round 80 (+9) gave him a final total of 223 (+10), just two strokes off his season low three-round score of 221, set last week in Hawaii. 

Just behind Ahlin was Chris Herzog, who tied for 17th with an 11-over 224. Herzog had the Pioneers' best score on Tuesday, carding a three-over 74 for the second time in the tournament and taking two strokes off his second-round total. A.J. Warren finished seven strokes behind Herzog with a 231 (+18) to tie for 32nd overall and carding a second-round 74. 

A.J. Hebert's 21-over 234 was good for a tie for 36th, while Elliot Busichio, playing in his first tournament for the Pioneers, rounded out the East Bay team with a 236 (+23) to tie for 38th overall. 

The Pioneers finished just two strokes back of fifth-place Cal State Monterey Bay and five strokes out of fourth place, but beat out seventh-place Dominican by nearly 60 strokes. Chico State claimed the team title, outdoing runner-up Sonoma State by 12 strokes. The Seawolves topped third-place Notre Dame de Namur by nine strokes. Chico State's Kyle Souza took the individual medalist honors posting a final-round 69 (-2) to beat out Stanford's Andre DeDecker, competing as an individual, by two strokes. Souza topped all five Cardinal players competing in the tournament. 

This week's tournament marked the final event of the 2011 fall season for the Pioneers. After a winter break from competition, East Bay will return to action in February, opening the spring season at the Coyote Intercollegiate, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino at Arrowhead Country Club on Feb. 26.