HUNTER EPSON, LONG BEACH STATE
SEPTEMBER MEN'S GOLFER OF THE MONTH
Senior • Long Beach, Calif. • Wilson HS

• Long Beach State’s Hunter Epson earned his first career Big West Men’s Golfer of the Month honor after a pair of top five finishes in September.

• The senior led the Beach to back-to-back second place showings at the Husky Invitational and Nick Watney Invitational, shooting 68 or lower in four of the five rounds he played.

• At the season-opening Husky Invitational, Epson tied for fifth place. He shot 139 for 5-under par in the weather-shortened two-round tournament.

• The Long Beach native claimed his first career individual title at the Nick Watney Invitational, sinking a birdie on the second sudden death playoff hole to defeat BYU’s Peter Kuest.

• Epson finished the tournament with an aggregate 13-under 200, making history as only the third player in LBSU history to shoot 200 or better over 54 holes.

• His stroke average for the month was 67.8.

Others nominated: Tanner Podres (Cal Poly); Derek Castillo (Cal State Fullerton); Thomas Hutchison (UC Davis); Ramiz Jamal (UC Irvine)
 

REI NAKATANI, UC DAVIS
SEPTEMBER WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE MONTH
Senior • Tokyo, Japan • Montverde Academy (FL)

• UC Davis senior Rei Nakatani took home her first career Big West Women’s Golfer of the Month accolade after finishing in the top 25 in all three September tournaments.

• Nakatani earned her second and third career top-10 finishes in both the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational and East-West Match Play Challenge.

• She finished at 4-under 212 for 7th overall on the par-72, 6,317-yard UNM Championship Course. She had a low of 69 in the first round of the season.

• Nakatani tied for third at the East-West Match Play Challenge in Verona, Wisc., shooting rounds of 70 and 71 for 3-under par.

• The Aggie also finished in a tie for 22nd at the Molly Murphy Crowley Collegiate Invitational in Portland, Ore. She completed five of her eight rounds at par or better.

Others nominated: Caroline Cantlay (Cal Poly); Elsa Lundquist (Cal State Fullerton); Vanessa Richiani (Long Beach State); Cameron Lee (UC Irvine)