VISTA, Calif. - The first tournament for Cal State East Bay men's golf took during the 2024 spring season wrapped up on Tuesday. The spring opener resulted in a team victory, a first place finish for the Pioneers at the 2024 CSUSM Fujikura Invite, which took place at Shadowridge Golf Club. 
 

SUMMARY AND NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Entering the Tuesday's third round, the Pioneers sat in second place for team scoring. A combined 18 birdies and one eagle on Tuesday by the team, and a low third round score of 71 from Easton Hether pushed the Pioneers to the top of the team leaderboard. 

Highlights for the Pioneers in the third round include:

• A sixth place tie on the leaderboard for Easton Hether, carding a 1-under-par 71 in the round with four birdies as he became CSUEB's top finisher in the tournament. 
• Five birdies in the third round for Cooper Groshart for a 3-under-par 69, a six stroke improvement from Monday's second round. 
• Also with five birdies on Tuesday was Ryan Hong, who finished tied for 18th place. Hong led the Pioneers in birdies with 14 throughout the tournament. 
• Three birdies and an eagle for Melker Backstrom for an even par 72 in the round, as he finished tied for 12th place. 
• Also tied for 12th was Aaron Lee, finishing at even par 216 for the tournament. 

CSUEB finished three strokes ahead of Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State. 

Individually, Greg Mouser from Cal State San Marcos and Chris Chomyn from Stanislaus State were tied atop the leaderboard at 7-under-par 209. The tournament medalist was determined in a one hole playoff, won by Chomyn.  
 

QUOTE

Cal State East Bay golf coach Chris Oetinger following the tournament's final round and Pioneers' victory: 
"So sweet to kick off the spring with a win. The guys played solid the whole tournament. I was very impressed by their performance. They took adversity in stride, had a calmness about them throughout the event and focused on the things they could control.

"Cooper bounced back big for us today. He really attacked the course during the final round. Easton was solid with another top-10 finish. Ryan provided a calm presence this week which shows tremendous growth. Melker's charge on his back-9 today helped us pull away from the pack. Aaron looked strong throughout the event. In reality, everyone played a big role and contributed to the team success. 

"We will celebrate and enjoy this today! When we return, we will begin preparation for the Battle in the Desert." 
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

On February 26-28, the Pioneers will compete in the Battle in the Desert, which takes place in Borrego Springs at Rams Hill Golf Club.