NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – All who have cheered the Chico State men’s golf team’s quest for the 2010 NCAA Division II National title are hoping the heavy wood-hewn trophy the Wildcats are traveling home with will help them remember to look for the forest through the trees. The Wildcats fell short of their overarching goal – the program’s first National title since 1966 – by finishing third, but still accomplished one of the greatest NCAA Championship Tournaments and seasons in the history of the Chico State golf program.
The Wildcats’ slow start amidst heavy rains Friday cost them the one-stroke lead they relished heading into the final round, and they never fully recovered, finishing the day with a 28-over par 316. The score was only slightly higher than the day’s average team score, but cost them the coveted title.
“The guys did what they’ve done all year by putting themselves in a great position to win the golf tournament,” said Wildcats Head Coach T.L. Brown. “We were loose. We had a good game plan. We just didn’t get off to a good start. The conditions were tough."
Chico State (307-298-293-316—1214) finished 62-over par, eight strokes behind Florida Southern (303-292-304-307–1206), which claimed its 12th national title. Central Missouri put together the second best round of the day for the second day in a row to catch and pass the Wildcats by a single stroke for second. Defending National Champion Sonoma State threatened to do the same, but birdies by Kyle Souza and Eric Frazzetta at the 18th broke what had been a deadlock for third and gave the Wildcats a two-shot cushion over their conference rivals.
“We’re all pretty disappointed,” admitted Brown. “We came here to win a championship. If you would have told any one of these young men that they had to shoot a 307 in the last round to win a National Championship they all would have had full confidence that they could go out and get it done. So this stings, no question.”
“But that doesn’t take away any of the pride I feel for this team or the pride they feel for what they’ve accomplished. There’s not any team in the nation that can say they accomplished what we did this year. We finished in the top five in every tournament we played in against probably the toughest competition in the nation. We have four All-Region players and I’m sure at least one or two All-Americans. This team is extremely talented, worked extremely hard, and was extremely passionate about the team and Chico State University. They have a lot to be proud of, as does Chico State University and all of our supporters.”
After briefly pulling to within one stroke of the lead early Friday morning, Souza eventually finished tied for sixth at 10-over par (74-70-74-80–298). Only J.J. Jakovac (the 2002 and 2004 National medalist) and Marc Peterson (5th in 2005) can boast a better finish at the National Championships by a Chico State golfer over the past 35 years. And he’s only a sophomore.
Seniors Sylvester Gama (75-73-76-80–304) and Lucas Delgado (74-80-74-80–308) also recorded final-round 8-over-par 80s in their final collegiate rounds. Gama finished in a tie for 18th place at 16-over par and Delgado finished alone in 29th at 20-over. Another senior, Brandon Harkins (84-78-72-77–311), finished in a tie for 37th at 23-over par. He finished 27th at last year’s National Championships competing as an individual.
Sophomore Eric Frazzetta (84-77-73-79–313) moved up four spots into a tie for 45th at 25-over.
“It’s sad to see the three seniors go. They meant a lot to the program and a lot to me,” said Brown. “It was amazing experience coaching Lucas Delgado for three years, going to two National Championship Tournaments with Brandon Harkins, and watching as Sylvester Gama evolved into a great player and quite a young man. It’s been a very rewarding time for me as a coach.”
Chico State’s CCAA brethren Cal State Monterey Bay (1,242) finished 11th and Cal State Stanislaus (1,252) moved up one spot Friday to place 13th.
Abilene Christian's Cyril Bouniol claimed individual medalist honors after carding a 3-under par 285 and registering a six-shot victory over Central Missouri's Justin Yoder (291). Bouniol, who was playing as an individual, turned in rounds of 76-68-71-70.
The challenging course yielded an average score of 80 on a rainy, windy day.
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