Aggies finish ninth in Bremerton, Wash.
For an Aggie team that has struggled with finishing tournaments, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regionals in Bremerton, Wash. proved to be more of the same. UC Davis, looking for a top five finish to advance, ended the first day of the tournament at seventh place before falling to ninth for the remainder of the weekend. Each day a new Aggie seemed to lead the team, but the on-and-off nature of their play ultimately hurt the team too much to advance.
Junior Luke Vivolo performed phenomenally on the first day, leading the Aggies with a No. 8 place individually. The junior hit six birdies, including three consecutive on the back nine, on his way to a 2-under 70. Sophomore Patrick Soli added another finish under par, shooting a 1-under 71 to grab the No. 14 spot. The team was weighed down by their two seniors, Mike Brockington and Matt Seramin, who ranked No. 40 and 70 respectively.
On the second day, it was freshman Ryan Han who played the savior as he shot a 2-under 70 to jump to 17th place. Han shot birdies on the seventh and eighth holes, finishing one under on each of the sides of the course. Every other Aggie player dropped, with Vivolo falling to No. 23 and Soli to No. 29. After finishing the first day just outside of the top five, UC Davis fell 11 strokes behind their goal with only one day to make up the difference.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, the team was simply unable to move the needle on the final day of play and finished in ninth place. Vivolo returned to his winning ways, shooting a 3-under 69 to finish in 15th while Han added a 2-under 70 to tie his teammate. Soli continued his drop, falling to No. 39 individually. As a team, the Aggies widened the gap between themselves and fifth place to 16 strokes while Vivolo and Han found themselves 10 shots behind the tournament winner.
Despite the loss, the Aggies appear to have a bright future right around the corner. All three of the top finishers from the NCAA Regionals will return next year, while they will also add an outstanding golfer,junior Ben Corfee who redshirted this year. Corfee is coming off a Second Team All-Big West award as well as a victory at prestigious Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) Four-Ball Championships during his year away from the team. UC Davis finished the season ranked No. 61 nationally, with Vivolo ranked No. 127 individually, according to Golfweek. The team will look to improve on a solid, but flawed, season.
Graphic by Sandra Bae.
