Cal advances to Nationals along with TCU, Saint Mary's, USC, and Ball State
PULLMAN, Wash. – No. 1 Cal (265-276-280 –
821, -43) broke the modern-era NCAA single-
season win record Saturday when the Golden
Bears closed out the NCAA Pullman Regional
for
their 11th victory in 13 tournaments this
season. Michael Weaver (65-67-70 – 202, -14)
became Cal’s first NCAA Regional individual
medalist and also won his first collegiate
tournament to lead the way, sharing the
individual title with Sam Smith of USC (62-64-
76 – 202, -14).
“I’ve been doing this for 34 years and there’s
never been a team that’s been close to this,”
head coach Steve Desimone said about the
record. “There are a lot of reasons for it but
primarily it has happened because these guys
have understood all along what was out there
for us and they’ve worked so hard. They are
the
epitome of a team.”
“It feels surreal to have the most wins in
history
of the modern-era of NCAA golf,” said Max
Homa, a senior who missed his graduation
ceremony at Cal on Saturday. “I really can’t
put
it into words. I can’t wait to get to Georgia
and
put it all on the line. This is what we work for.
I
told myself I needed to make today worth not
getting to walk at graduation, so I guess I did
that.”
With the victory, Cal will advance to the 30-
team field at the NCAA Championship hosted
by
Georgia Tech May 28 – June 2 at the Capital
City Club in Alpharetta, Ga. Cal will be playing
at the NCAA Championship for a school-record
fourth consecutive season and the ninth time
in
school history. Cal will enter the NCAA
Championship having won 17 of its last 27
tournaments overall dating back to the
beginning of the 2011-12 campaign and having
finished in the top five in all 27.
TCU (276-285-280 – 841, -23), Saint Mary’s
(267-290-285 – 842, -22), USC (272-280-292
– 844, -20) and Ball State (281-284-291 –
856)
will join Cal at the NCAA Championship after
finishing second through fifth at the NCAA
Pullman Regional. Ball State needed an extra
hole to defeat San Diego State (270-293-293
–
856) in a playoff. Rodolfo Cazaubon of North
Texas also qualified for the NCAA
Championship
as an individual as the top individual finisher
not from one of the five teams advancing.
Cazaubon (68-73-68 – 209, -7) tied for sixth
overall.
Weaver started Saturday’s third and final
round
in second place but six shots behind Smith,
with the two both playing in the day’s final
threesome off the first tee. After combining to
play the first two rounds in 18-under par,
Smith
struggled on Saturday and after his seventh
bogey of the round on the par-four 14th hole
the two were tied.
Weaver took his first lead of the day on the
next
hole with a birdie on the par-four 15th but
dropped right back into a tie with Smith when
he bogeyed the par-three 16th. The battle
ended in a tie when each player birdied the
17th and bogeyed the 18th, both par-fives.
There was no individual playoff.
