Final Results

DUPONT, Wash. --- Chris Herzog took fourth place overall at the NCAA DII West Regional Preview this week, hosted by St. Martin's University at The Home Course. The senior finished five under par for the tournament, earning All-Tournament honors and helping the Cal State East Bay men to ninth place out of 15 teams. The Pioneers were remarkably consistent, posting team scores of 291-292-294 to finish at 877 (+13).

East Bay, currently ranked No. 9 in last week's first West Region poll, had a good showing compared to their CCAA rivals. The team finished three strokes ahead of No. 3 Cal State Stanislaus, four strokes behind No. 6 Chico State, and eight strokes behind No. 1 Cal State Monterey Bay.

Herzog shot a third-round 70 on the par-72 course, giving him a total score of 211 (-5). He was four strokes behind the indivudual champion and had the lowest score of any CCAA golfer in the field. Herzog was the only Pioneer to place in the top-30, however.

Junior Sam Lavelle shot a 75 (+3) today to finish at 220 (+4) for the tournament. He was five strokes under par on par-five holes, helping the Pioneers finish fourth in par-five scoring (-15). Lavelle was tied for 33rd out of 81 competing golfers.

After going one under par for his second round, senior Blake Ahlin had another solid score on Tuesday, posting a 74 (+2). His three-round total was 226 (+10), tying him for 61st overall. Fellow senior Andy Quintero was right behind him at 227 (+11) for the week. Quintero was unable to recapture the magic of his first-round 70, but a 78 (+6) in today's round kept the Pioneers in the hunt. 

A.J. Hebert was the only East Bay golfer to shoot his best round of the tournament on Tuesday. The sophomore turned in a solid 75 (+3) and finished the event at 231 (+15).

"Chris played great, and this tournament had one of the strongest fields of the year," commented head coach Alan Sue after Tuesday's action. "12 of the 15 teams are currently in position to qualify for the Regional Championship next month. With that level of competition, we'll need to play more consistently. But with that said, we were only eight shots behind fifth place -- if this were the Regionals, that would be enough to earn a trip to the National Championship." 

The Pioneers have one more tournament on their schedule before the CCAA Championships. Next week, they'll compete in the Harry Stanislaus Invitational at the Turlock Golf and Country Club, which starts Monday, April 15.