UC Davis’ Demi Runas Earns All-America Honors: Three-time Big West Player of the Year Demi Runas was named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-America second team. Runas, earned the prestigious honor after another standout season for the nationally ranked Aggies who won their fourth straight conference title and advanced to the NCAA Championships where they finished a school-best 16th.
UC Davis Registers Best-Ever NCAA Championship Finish: Led by freshman Betty Chen, who carded a four-round score of 296, the UC Davis Aggies finished 16th at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at the University of Georgia Golf Course, their best showing in three trips to the prestigious event. They were 21st in 2008 and then placed 20th in their last appearance in 2011. The Aggies advanced to the NCAA Championship after placing sixth at the NCAA Central Regional.
UC Irvine Duo Compete In NCAA West Regional: Anteaters Luciane Lee and Michelle Park competed as individuals at the NCAA West Regional at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. Lee posted a three-day total of 219 to place 22nd while Park finished tied for 65th sfter shooting 227.
Four-Peat - UC Davis Women Capture Fourth Straight Big West Title: UC Davis tallied an eight-stroke lead on day one of the 2013 Big West Women’s Golf Tournament at the San Luis Obispo Golf and Country Club and never looked back as the Aggies concluded the three-day tournament with a team score of 881 (289-304-288), a 29-stroke lead over second place Long Beach State, to clinch their fourth consecutive Big West Conference title. The 49ers placed second after firing a three-round total of 910 (297-312-301). Rounding out the top three were the Anteaters of UC Irvine, who carded 922. UC Riverside shot 940 to finish fourth and Cal State Fullerton claimed fifth after notching a three-day score of 949. Cal Poly (950), Cal State Northridge (954) and Hawai’i (957) closed out the eight-team field.
Aggie Demi Runas walked away with her first Big West Conference top individual medalist honors after blasting a one-under 218. The senior from Torrance, Calif., becomes the fourth consecutive Aggie to finish atop the leaderboard, following in the footsteps of Bev Vatananugulkit (2012), Alice Kim (2011) and Chelsea Stelzmiller (2010).
Cal State Fullerton, Pacific Crowned Big West Men’s Golf Co-Champions: Cal State Fullerton and Pacific were 2013 Big West Men’s Golf Co-Champions after carding a three-round team score of 887 at the 2013 Big West Men’s Golf Championship at the Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, Calif. Defending champion UC Davis finished third with a three-day total of 890 and UC Santa Barbara placed fourth at 892. Long Beach State secured the fifth slot after registering a three-round score of 894 and was followed by Hawai’i (906), UC Irvine (908) and UC Riverside (912). Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge each carded 928 to tie for the ninth spot.
This is the second men’s golf team title for the Tigers, their first dates back to 1997, and the first championship for the Titans, who reinstated the sport back in 2010. The Tigers won a one-hole playoff by two strokes to earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Regionals.
Fans also witnessed a three-way tie atop the individual leaderboard between Cal State Fullerton’s Corey Gard, who remained in the top spot throughout the tournament, Pacific’s Eric Sugimoto and UC Santa Barbara’s Brett Silvernail, who erased an eight-stroke deficit after firing a 3-under-par 69. All three players blasted a 1-over 217 to claim the top spot. Sugimoto won a two-hole playoff to capture the individual medalist honor.
Pacific, Trio Of Individuals Conclude Season at NCAA Regionals: The Tigers slipped two spots on the final day of the NCAA Regionals, just missing a berth into the NCAA Championship. They concluded the three-day even with a 6-under 858.
After firing back-to-back under-par rounds of 67 and 71, UC Davis’ Tyler Raber, who competed as an individual at the Pullman Regional, shot 3-over 75. His three-day total of 214 knotted him in 23rd. UC Santa Barbara’s Glen Scher concluded the Tempe Regional tied for 59th after tallying 222 (79-70-73).
Big West Annual Awards: UC Davis’ momentum carried through to the postseason as the Aggies collected all three Big West awards, one of which they shared with UC Irvine. Demi Runas was named 2013 Big West Women’s Golf Player of the Year, teammate Andrea Wong nabbed 2013 Big West Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year honors and Anna Temple shares 2013 Big West Women’s Golf Co-Coach of the Year with UC Irvine Head Coach Julie Brooks.
Spearheaded by head coach Jason Drotter, Cal State Fullerton was crowned Big West Men’s Golf Co-Champions in just its fourth year of competition, an impressive feat that earned him 2013 Big West Men’s Golf Coach of the Year accolades. UC Santa Barbara’s Glen Scher collected 2013 Big West Men’s Golf Player of the Year honors while Daniel Chian received the 2013 Big West Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year award.