SEASIDE, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay men's golf team had a solid week participating in the Otter Invitational at Bayonet Golf Course. The Pioneers placed fifth in the 17-team field and finished second out of seven CCAA teams. Their overall team score of 904 (+40) was 30 strokes behind the host and tournament champion Cal State Monterey Bay. Senior Chris Herzog led the way with a second-place individual finish, while three Pioneers placed in the top half of the 89-player field.

Herzog's runner-up standing was his highest individual finish since winning the Pioneer Shootout, hosted by Cal State East Bay, last March. It's the second time in three tournaments that he has posted the low score for the Pioneers. Herzog improved his play in each of the three rounds, turning in cards of 73, 72, and 70 for a total of 215 (-1), which put him just three strokes behind the individual champion, Ben Taylor of Nova Southeastern. Herzog out-paced the entire field with 43 pars made, and he also finished with the best mark on par-four holes (-2).

Freshman Matt Lee, fresh off an impressive fourth-place finish last week, had another excellent showing in Seaside. He stumbled a bit with a first-round 76, but bounced back with rounds of 73 and 74 to finish at 223 (+7), which tied him for 12th overall. Lee was nearly as good as Herzog at limiting major mistakes, ranking second overall behind his teammate with 38 pars.

Blake Ahlin finished third for the Pioneers and 39th in the tournament with a total score of 231 (+15). After consecutive rounds of 79, he contributed to a strong third round for the team with a 73, tied for the third-best single-round score on the East Bay squad. He also led the team with 10 birdies on the week.

A.J. Maxedon just squeezed into the overall top-50 as the fourth Pioneer finisher. Rounds of 80, 76, and 79 gave him a total of 235 (+19), which tied him for 50th. Maxedon also managed an eagle for the second time in the young season.

The fifth East Bay qualifier was Andy Quintero, who wasn't quite able to crack the 80-stroke threshold, finishing at 247 (+31). He shots round of 81 and 84, then was able to improve his third-round score by two strokes with an 82 to help the Pioneers make a push up the standings. Quintero's week was also highlighted by an eagle.

In a somewhat wet and soggy week, East Bay didn't let the elements faze them. The Pioneers were tied for 10th after round one and sixth after round two. They saved their best golf for the final round, shooting a 296 to vault over conference rivals Sonoma State and UC San Diego into fifth place.

The fall season continues next week for the Pioneers halfway across the Pacific Ocean. Both the men's and women's teams with travel to Hawaii to compete in the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate, hosted by Hawaii-Hilo.