FULLERTON, Calif. - Coming off its second consecutive Big West Conference Championship last season, the Cal State Fullerton men's golf team gets its 2014-15 season underway in Westlake Village, Calif., heading to the Southwestern Intercollegiate hosted by Southern California on Monday-Tuesday.
THE COURSE: The two-day event will be contested at the North Ranch Country Club, playing at 6,964 yards from the tournament tees and par 71 for the 54-hole event. Play begins at 8 a.m. on Monday for the first 36-holes, and will conclude Tuesday for the final 18 holes at 8 a.m.
THE FIELD: Competing alongside the Titans will be a pair of Big West foes in CSUN and UC Davis. Arizona, Hartford, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Diego State, Stanford, Washington State and host USC complete the 12-team field.
LIVE SCORING: Live scoring will be available for both days at Golfstat.com. Please click here or visit http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/indexh.cfm?tournament_id=5712 for scores as they become available. Complete results will be posted on Cal State Fullerton's athletic website at Fullertontitans.com at the end of each day and the conclusion of competition.
ACCORDING TO LAST YEAR'S RANKINGS: Cal State Fullerton ended the 2013-14 season ranked No. 66 in the nation according to the Golfstat.com NCAA Head-to-Head rankings, making them one of six teams ranked within the top-75 from last season entering this week's tournament: Stanford leads the field at No. 3, host USC is No. 33, San Diego State is No. 41, UC Davis is No. 64, San Diego is No. 71, Arizona is No. 82, Pepperdine is No. 97, Washington State is No. 98, Loyola Marymount is No. 115, Hartford is No. 159 and CSUN is No. 175.
According to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings entering the fall, Fullerton is one of three top-100 ranked teams in the competition rated at No. 67; The rest of the field: Stanford is No. 3, host USC is No. 25, San Diego State is No. 34, UC Davis is No. 56, San Diego is No. 63, Arizona is No. 80, Pepperdine is No. 94, Washington State is No. 98, Loyola Marymount is No. 129, Hartford is No. 171 and CSUN is No. 177.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Next week will mark the first time since the men's golf program was reinstated in 2009-10 that the Titans will hit the links at the Southwestern Intercollegiate. Comprised of primarily Big West and Pac-12 competition, the field will make the tournament one of the more highly contested events over the course of the Fullerton season.
A LOOK AT THE TITANS: The Titans carded nine top-five finishes last season, while returning a pair of student-athletes that were in the lineup for the 2014 Big West Conference Championships. Senior Ryan Tetrault, garnered All-Big West First Team honors after carding six top-10 finishes in 2013-14. Kyle De Silva also returns for his sophomore campaign after earning valuable postseason experience at the Sugar Grove Regionals in Sugar Grove, Ill. De Silva participated in 11 of 12 events last season.
The Titans will have to replace Mark Anguiano, Corey Gard and Scott Rubzin, but welcomes in five newcomers to the fold this season in freshman Michael Alvarez (Pomona, Calif./Coronado HS), Mark Cobey (Woodland, Calif./Jesuit HS), David Stitt (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal HS) and a pair of transfers, Nico Mendoza (Yorba Linda, Calif./Santiago Canyon College) and Marcus Mercado-Kiel (Santa Ana, Calif./Orange Coast College).
SEASON SCHEDULE: Cal State Fullerton's 2014-15 campaign features ten tournaments before the Big West Championship and NCAA Regionals. The Folino Invitational will again highlight the Titans season after Fullerton broke several event records en route to its first title at its host event last season. The fifth annual Folino Invitational has become one of the premier collegiate golf destinations and will be hosted at the Industry Hills Golf Club in the City of Industry, Calif., on Feb. 16-17.
Fullerton will also hit the links outside the state of California, visiting Arizona, Colorado, and Washington over the course of the season: 2014-15 Schedule 
A LOOK BACK AT 2013-14: After losing in a playoff to Pacific for an NCAA berth in 2012-13, Fullerton rebounded in a big way in 2013-14 to capture its second consecutive conference championship and first outright title to earn a postseason appearance in the Sugar Grove Regionals. The Titans ended its most successful season winning four tournaments (Bill Cullum Invitational, Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Folino Invitational, Big West Championship) while finishing second in a pair of tournaments (Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, El Macero Classic).
Head coach Jason Drotter was named the Big West Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, while a trio of student-athletes took home All-Big West honors. Mark Anguiano became the first Titan to garner the player of the year accolade, pacing the Big West Conference with a 69.72 stroke average. Joining Anguiano on the All-Big West First Team was Ryan Tetrault and Corey Gard.
2013-14 Cal State Fullerton Men's Golf Awards
|
NAME |
HONOR |
|
Jason Drotter |
Big West Men's Golf Coach of the Year |
|
Mark Anguiano |
Big West Men's Golf Player of the Year |
|
Mark Anguiano |
All-Big West First Team |
|
Ryan Tetrault |
All-Big West First Team |
|
Corey Gard |
All-Big West First Team |
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS FROM HOME: Cal State Fullerton excelled both as a team and individually at its host event in City of Industry, Calif., at the Industry Hills Golf Course in the 2014 Folino Invitational on Feb. 17-18.
The overall score of 863 (-1) was the best team score on record at the Folino, surpassing Cal Poly's 867 (+3) by four-strokes during the 2011 event. All five team participants Mark Anguiano, Ryan Tetrault, Corey Gard, Kyle De Silva and Josh Park finished in the top-20 on the individual leaderboard.
Anguiano garnered the individual title ahead of Sacramento State's Owen Tyler and fellow Titan Tetrault after shooting a 2-under-par 70 to finish at 12-under-par 204. Anguiano's total score of 204 shattered the lowest-ever individual tournament score of 212 (-1), previously held by Geoff Gonzalez of Cal Poly in the 2011 competition.
Six out of the 11 Titans on the 2013-14 men's roster produced their best finishes of the season in the team's title:
Player: Individual Score/ Finish
Mark Anguiano- (66-68-70—204, -12), First Place
Ryan Tetrault- (72-78-72—222, -2), T2nd Place
Kyle De Silva- (74-74-79—227, +11), T14th Place
Josh Park- (78-76-74—228, +12), T16th Place
Mark Jensma- (77-79-76—232, +16), T31st Place
Matt Murphy- (79-77-79—235, +19), T36th Place
THE SECOND CAN EVEN BE BETTER THAN THE FIRST: In seven of the 12 tournaments in 2013-14, the Titans shot a team-low score in the second round, winning a pair of those events:
EVENT: Team Score (Second Round)/Finish/Date
Itani Quality Home Collegiate: (277, -5), Second Place, Sept. 9, 2013
*Bill Cullum Invitational: (280, -8), First Place, Oct. 21, 2013
*Folino Invitational: (285, -3), First Place, Feb. 17, 2014
Jones Invitational: (300, +12), Fifth Place, Feb. 24, 2014
Del Walker Intercollegiate: (276, -4), Sixth Place, Mar. 3, 2014
Desert Shootout: (274, -14), Fourth Place, Mar. 21, 2014
NCAA Sugar Grove Regionals: (309, +21), 11th Place, May 16, 2014
*clinched team title
MAKING HIS MARK ON THE PROGRAM: The Titans bid farewell to Mark Anguiano who completed his tenure at Cal State Fullerton from 2011-14. In his final campaign, the native of Whittier, Calif., tallied nine top-five finishes, including two individual medalist honors and a tie for second place at the conference championship.
Anguiano was also the only conference golfer to claim the Big West Golfer of the Month honor multiple times, recognized on three occasions for the months of September, February and March. The Golf Coaches Association of America also named him on the 2014 PING All-West Team.
Over the summer, Anguiano claimed the Sahalee Players Championship (SPC) on June 30-July 2 held at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash., while returing to the links with a fourth-place finish at the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship (PCA) on July 22-25 at the Pine Canyon Club in Flagstaff, Ariz.
RETURNERS ROUNDS AT PAR OR BETTER IN 2013-14:
Ryan Tetrault (18):
67 (-3) -- 2nd Round -- Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 9, 2013
68 (-2) -- 3rd Round -- Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 10, 2013
71 (-1) -- 2nd Round -- Bill Cullum Invitational, Oct. 21, 2013
70 (-2) -- 3rd Round -- Bill Cullum Invitational, Oct. 22, 2013
70 (-2) -- 1st Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 4, 2013
70 (-2) -- 2nd Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 5, 2013
65 (-7) -- 3rd Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 6, 2013
70 (-2) -- 2nd Round – Folino Invitational, Feb. 17, 2014
71 (-1) -- 3rd Round – Folino Invitational, Feb. 18, 2014
72 (E) -- 3rd Round – Jones Invitational, Feb. 25, 2014
69 (-1) -- 1st Round – Del Walker Intercollegiate, Mar. 3, 2014
70 (E) -- 2nd Round – Del Walker Intercollegiate, Mar. 3, 2014
69 (-3) -- 1st Round – Desert Shootout, Mar. 20, 2014
72 (E) -- 2nd Round – Desert Shootout, Mar. 21, 2014
66 (-6) -- 3rd Round – Desert Shootout, Mar. 22, 2014
71 (-1) -- 1st Round – El Macero Classic, Apr. 18, 2014
72 (E) -- 3rd Round – El Macero Classic, Apr. 20, 2014
72 (E) -- 1st Round – Big West Championships, Apr. 27, 2014
Kyle De Silva (6):
72 (E) -- 1st Round -- Bill Cullum Invitational, Oct. 21, 2013
72 (E) -- 3rd Round -- Bill Cullum Invitational, Oct. 22, 2013
67 (-5) -- 1st Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 4, 2013
71 (-1) -- 1st Round – Desert Shootout, Mar. 20, 2014
71 (-1) -- 2nd Round – Desert Shootout, Mar. 21, 2014
71 (-1) -- 3rd Round – El Macero Classic, Apr. 20, 2014
Josh Park (5):
72 (E) -- 1st Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 4, 2013
69 (-3) -- 2nd Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 5, 2013
69 (-3) -- 3rd Round -- Warrior Princeville Makai Invite, Nov. 6, 2013
69 (-1) -- Third Round – Del Walker Intercollegiate, Mar. 4, 2014
70 (-2) -- 2nd Round – Desert Shootout, Mar. 21, 2014
TAP-INS:
• Three Titans took over 2,400 strokes in 2013-14 while still holding a scoring average of under-73.00 (Corey Gard 2,544; Ryan Tetrault 2,497; Mark Anguiano 2,461).
• Fullerton had 32 under-70 rounds last season led by Mark Anguiano with 16, and six each from Corey Gard and Ryan Tetrault, respectively.
• Over the 2013-14 season, the 11-man roster competed in a combined 196 rounds in 12 team events.
• Fullerton recorded a total of 14,391 strokes last year, good for a team stroke average of 73.42.
• Senior Ryan Tetrault is the only returner who landed himself in the top-five in Big West player standings for shooting one of the lowest rounds last season, carding a 65 (-7) in the third round of the Warrior Princeville Makai Invite on Nov. 6, 2013.