Event: Big West Conference Championships
Where: Tijeras Creek Golf Course – Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
When: Today and Tuesday, all day.
Who to watch: Consistency is key to the Aggies’ success, and Ramie Sprinkling has it.
The junior from Camarillo, Calif. leads the Aggies with a 73.0-stroke average per 18 holes, with two fourth-place finishes on the year.
Did you know? Of the eight conference teams making up the tournament field, the UC Davis men’s golf team is the second-highest ranked team at No. 81. UC Irvine leads the field at No. 61, and then only UC Santa Barbara at No. 93 and Pacific at No. 100 are the other ranked teams in the conference.
Preview: After spending the weekend amidst some of the best competition in the country, the Aggies will head to Southern California for the Big West Conference Championships.
In their first Big West Golf Championship, UC Davis earned the No. 2 seed, right behind the defending 2007 tournament champion, UC Irvine.
Previous tournament winners at the Tijeras Creek Golf Course include Long Beach State (2004), UC Riverside (2005) and Cal Poly (2006). The winner of the Big West Championship will earn a berth at the NCAA West Regional.
Making the start for the Aggies will be Sprinkling, freshman sensation Austin Graham (73/round) sophomore Gregg Button (73.1/round), senior Matt Marshall (73.1/round), and junior Nate Pistacchio (73.1/round).
“One through five, they are all playing really well. They’re working very hard right now,” said head coach Cy Williams. “We’re doing well enough to go into tournament, compete and be successful.”
In its latest tournament action over the weekend, UC Davis finished in ninth place with a team score of 888 at the U.S. Intercollegiate in Stanford.
Graham came to play, leading the Aggies with a one-under 69 in the opening round and an even-par 70 in the final. The San Clemente High School graduate finished in a tie for 11th place with a 212 individual score.
–Matt Miller
