UC Davis Women Claim First Big West Golf Championship There is a first time winner of the Big West Womens Golf Championship as UC Davis completed its wire-to-wire run at the San Luis Obispo Country Club for its first title in program history. The individual crown went to the Aggies Chelsea Stelzmiller who won in a three-hole playoff against teammate Amy Simanton.
UCD had four golfers finish in the top five on its way to a 900 (298-299-303) to win the title at +36, 19 strokes better than defending champion Long Beach State. Finishing up in third was UC Irvine (925), while tournament host Cal Poly wrapped up the top four (948). Fifth place went to Cal State Northridge at 959, while UC Riverside (970) and Cal State Fullerton (995) completed the 2010 Womens Championship.
Stelzmiller (75-72-77) and Simanton (74-74-76) tied at 224 before entering the playoff. Both parred the first two playoff holes before Stelzmillers par on the third gave her top medalist honors. It gave her a bit of redemption at the Big West Championship after losing the 2008 top medalist honor in a three-hole playoff.
UCD and UCI Conclude Season At NCAA Womens Golf West Regional
Two Big West clubs wrapped up the 2010 Spring season competing at the NCAA Womens Golf West Regional. UC Davis ended up in 15th place and UC Irvine finished in 17th place. The regional tournament was held at Stanford Golf Course on the campus of Stanford University.
The Aggies wrapped up the regional with a +61 after finishing the third round at +14. Chelsea Stelzmiller was UCDs top scorer after the three rounds, wrapping up the tourney +2 overall, placing her in a tie for 17th place.
Meanwhile, UCI finished in 17th place after its third round +28. Henna Cho was the low scorer for the Anteaters with a +14 over the three round tournament, finishing in a tie for 38th overall.
UC Irvine Reclaims Big West Men's Title
After a one-year hiatus, UC Irvine reclaimed the Big West mens golf title with an impressive victory at Mission Viejo Country Club. UCI, which has now won three championships in the past four seasons. UCI's John Chin also claimed the second medalist honor of his Anteater career with a seven-under 209 for the tournament.
UCI (873) finished up at +9 for the Championship after shooting 297 in Tuesday's third round. Pacific was second at +26 (890), while Long Beach State rounded out the top three with a +31 (895) showing. UC Santa Barbara finished the tournament in fourth with a score of +33 (897), while Cal State Northridge came in fifth at +39 (903). UC Davis was sixth at +46 (910), while UC Riverside (+47, 911), Cal Poly (+61, 925) and Cal State Fullerton (+65, 929) wrapped up the 2010 Championship team leaderboard.
Chin was the lone player to finish below par for the tournament as he posted a score nine strokes better than the runner ups. T.J. Bordeaux of Pacific and Pace Johnson of Cal Poly were each in that second position at +2, while another tie for fourth at +3 between UC Riversides Kevin Fitzgerald and UC Irvines Shaun OMeara wrapped up the top five scorers.
Chin (-1) was only one of three players during the third round to post a round of even or below par. UC Riverside's Andrew Patipaksiri (-1) and UC Davis' Andrew Haggen (E) were the other two competitors to achieve the feat.
Nick Delio Captures NCAA Southwest Regional Championship, Advances To NCAA Championship
Cal State Northridge's Nick Delio punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships thanks to achieving medalist honors at the NCAA Southwest Regional Championship in San Diego, Calif.
Delio's third round 73 put him at 3-under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Oregon's Daniel Miernicki for the top spot in the field. Delio's three round score of three under-par 213 advances him to the NCAA Championships June 1-6 at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Delio also becomes the first Matador player to advance to the NCAA Championships since CSUN moved up to the Division I level in 1991. The Matadors last had a Division II champion in 1990 when Bob Burns won the national championship.
At the NCAA Championship, Delio posted a final round of even-par 72, his best of the championship, as he wound up tied for 103rd with a nine over-par 225 (76-77-72) at the NCAA Championship at The Honors Course.
UC Irvine, UC Davis Graham In NCAA Regional Action
UC Irvine competed as a team at the Southwest Regional, finishing in a tie for eighth at 35-over. John Chin finished in ninth place at +1 (76-71-71) to lead the squad, while Jerry He finished in a tie for 28th at +8 (75-73-76). Max Greil was at +15 (74-81-76) and Bryan Harris (78-76-83) and Michael Yang (84-77-76) completed the UCI competitors at +21 each.
Meanwhile, Austin Graham wrapped up his time at the West Regional in Bremerton, Wash., with a final round 75 to put him at +7 for the tournament. He shot 75 and 73 in the previous rounds on his way to a tie for 40th place.
Big West Annual Awards
Following a stellar season in which he helped lead his team to the Big West title, UC Irvine's John Chin was named the Big West Mens Golfer of the Year. Pace Johnson of Cal Poly also claimed a major award in the Freshman of the Year, while Anteater coach Paul Smolinski was voted as the league's coach of the year.
UC Irvine also claimed two of the six first team all-conference spots, the only club to have multiple first team all-stars. Chin and Cal State Northridge's Nick Delio were named first teamers for the third time, while UC Davis Austin Graham and Pacifics T.J. Bordeaux picked up first team accolades for the second time.
On the women's side, UC Davis continued to rake in the hardware following its top season in DI competition as Aggie junior Alice Kim claimed Big West Women's Golfer of the Year honors. UCD also nabbed the Freshman of the Year in Amy Simanton, while Aggie head coach Anne Walker was dubbed the coach of the year.
UC Davis also dominated the all-conference selections as four of the six first team selections went to the Aggies. Long Beach State and UC Irvine claimed the final two first team slots.
UC Irvine's Chin, Team USA Win Palmer Cup
Team USA, which included UC Irvine All-American John Chin, defeated Europe, 13-11, to reclaim the Palmer Cup as play concluded Saturday at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
The teams split singles, 4-4, Saturday. With six matches in the clubhouse and the U.S. holding a 12-10 lead, only Chin and Scott Langley remained on the course for the United States.
Chin, a 2010 first team All-American and three-time Big West Conference Golfer of the Year, was edged 1-up by Patrick Spraggs, but that pair was in the 18th fairway when Langley was ensured of at least a half with Rhys Enoch to secure the Cup for the Americans. Langley went on to record a 1-up victory.
Chin took a 1-up lead with a birdie at the par-5 ninth and maintained that lead until he bogeyed the par-3 14th hole. Spraggs went 1-up after a Chin bogey at the par-4 15th, but the UCI alum pulled all-square when Spraggs bogeyed the par-5 17th. On 18, Chin had a bogey-5 on the par-4 and Spraggs recorded a 4.
This is the USA's first win on European soil since 2002 as the Americans claimed the Cup for the first time since 2007. The U.S. takes a 7-6-1 lead in the series after this years win.