DAVIS, Calif. – A dominating performance led the Nevada men's golf team to the team title at the El Macero Classic. Newcomer
Sam Meek captured the individual crown.
"I'm so happy for this group of guys," said head coach
Jacob Wilner. "They've played great all year and to get a team win in a quality field is amazing."
The victory marks the first team win of the season for the Wolf Pack and its first since it won the Jackrabbit Invitational last year. From a historical perspective this is the 30
th team win in program history and the first time the Pack has won tournaments in back-to-back seasons since 2008-09 and 2009-10. It also marks the third team win under Wilner's direction.
Sunday's final round was not exactly an easy path to the title with windy playing conditions at El Macero Country Club, but the team grinded out the round to still win by 10 strokes. The Wolf Pack combined for a team score of 304 in the final round but none of the 13 teams in the field shot better than a 293. For the tournament the Pack finished at 15-over par, 10 shots better than the runner-up team in No. 24 UCLA. Nevada also bested No. 12 Texas Tech by 12 shots and No. 31 TCU by 14.
Nevada had all four of its counting scorers place inside the top 25 in the 81-player field, led by Meek who won the first individual title of his career. Meek and his teammate, the eventual runner-up finisher
Grant Booth, battled back and forth for the lead all afternoon long. The individual crown essentially came down to No. 18 where Meek made birdie to close his round and Booth bogeyed his final hole.
Meek, who joined the Wolf Pack earlier this semester, carded one of the lowest scores of the day with a 1-over 73, while Booth posted a 3-over 75. For the tournament Meek finished at 1-under par, the only player to finish under par through the three rounds of play. He bested Booth for the individual title by one shot. This marks the first win for Meek and the Pack's first individual winner since Kevin Lucas won the Pacific Invitational in the fall of 2011.
Sophomore
Sam Harned was the Pack's third best finisher and earned his first top 15 finish of the season, tying for 14
th place. He strung together a 4-over round of 76 on Sunday and finished at 8-over for the tournament. Freshman
Joey Vrzich managed to make 10 pars during his round but found some trouble on a few holes to card an 80. He tied for 25
th place for the event. Junior
Jooho Lee rounded out the Pack lineup in a tie for 51
st.
Nevada also had three others entered in the event as individuals with senior
Corey Eddings the highest finisher of the three in a tie for 42
nd. Eddings posted one of the best rounds of the day with a 3-over 75, moving him up five spots on the leaderboard. Fellow senior
Kaleb Gorbahn grabbed sole possession of 57
th and sophomore
Stephen Osborne nabbed 73
rd.
Nevada will take its momentum into the upcoming Mountain West Championship, which will take place April 20-22 at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.
Nevada Players
1.
Sam Meek – 69-73-73=215 (-1)
2.
Grant Booth – 70-71-75=216 (E)
T14.
Sam Harned – 80-68-76=224 (+8)
T25.
Joey Vrzich – 75-72-80=227 (+11)
T51.
Jooho Lee – 77-74-84=235 (+17)
Ind.
T42.
Corey Eddings – 77-79-75=231 (+15)
57.
Kaleb Gorbahn – 75-84-78=237 (+21)
73.
Stephen Osborne – 82-84-80=246 (+30)
