The men’s golf team finished today in sole possession of third place in the two-day Western Intercollegiate golf tournament in Santa Cruz. They’re situated behind two very respectable ranked teams (Michigan St. and St. Mary’s). Freshman Stephen Hale added to his spectacular spring résumé by leading the Bears in sixth place overall. Junior George Gandranata notched a solid six over, good for tenth place, and senior Brandon Beck and freshman Eric Mina tied for 20^th place. Another solid day for the Bears who continue to keep all members of the team in the top 20.

Along with the usual suspects, Feldman Tan and Andrey Mindirgasov are also with the team to compete as individuals. Their scores won’t count toward the team totals, but they do get some valuable practice time during an actual tournament.

The bad news for the Bears is that sophomore Evan Derian withdrew midway through the first round. He was able to return in the second round but was still struggling. From what I understand, he was feeling a bit under the weather on Tuesday, although I’m waiting to get confirmation on the reason as to his withdrawal. The Western Intercollegiate is a five-count-four tourney, which means that only the four best scores of each hole count toward the overall team score. So, on that mark, being down one man wouldn’t be enough to force the entire team to withdraw. However, it did put the Bears at a decided disadvantage, making that third place finish look even better. Hopefully Evan will be at full strength tomorrow.

In other news, the team has been in Santa Cruz since Monday, so they’ve been able to enjoy both two practice rounds at the lovely Pasatiempo Golf Course and the local eateries (The guys recommend the appropriately named “Ristorante Italiano.“) On Tuesday, Beck and Gandranata won the College Am.

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