The Aggies entered this weekend’s Amer Ari Invitational as an underdog, matching up against some of the best schools in the nation.
They didn’t play like underdogs, though.
Over the weekend, the UC Davis men’s golf team finished tenth out of twenty teams at the Amer Ari Invitational this weekend in Waikaloa, Hawaii against some of the very best schools in the nation. The Aggies finished ahead of ninth-ranked Stanford, in addition to several other Pac-10 schools.
Coach Cy Williams associated the Aggies’ successes to their preparation during preseason.
“Our fall put us in good shape and we got some good experience for our young players,” Williams said.
Senior Austin Graham was the top finisher the Aggies as he tied for 28th overall. Junior Tyler Raber finished second best – tied for 36th – while sophomore Andrew Haggen finished 41st. Freshmen Matt Seramin and Matt Hansen came in at 59th and 65th, respectively.
Seramin came back from a second round score of 75 to shoot a 71 in his final round, which featured three birdies and 13 pars. Graham had three birdies and 10 pars in his final round while Raber carded four birdies. Hansen played a steady final round that featured 14 pars and a birdie on the par-4 first hole. Haggen was even for the tournament while Seramin finished at two over and Hansen at three over.
When talking about moving forward into the season, Williams was optimistic.
“We have a really good lineup [this season] and we will continue to improve against stiff competition,” Williams said.
No. 4 Oklahoma State took the team title, finishing five strokes ahead of No. 7 Texas who came in second.
No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 Georgia Tech and No. 24 USC rounded out the top five.
UC Davis returns to action Feb. 13 to 15 at the Battle of the Beach, hosted by Long Beach State.
RON HOOPER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
