FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's golf team return to the links and travel to Erie, Colo., to participate in the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational as one of 18 teams competing in the two-day tournament hosted by Colorado on Monday-Tuesday.
Play begins at 8:15 a.m. on Monday for the first 36-holes, and will conclude Tuesday for the final 18 holes at 8 a.m.
THE COURSE: The two-day event will be contested at the Colorado National Golf Club (CNGC), a par-72 configuration over the 54-hole event. Playing at 7,771-yards, the CNGC has hosted previous U.S. Amateur qualifiers, Colorado PGA Section championships, the 2011 NCAA Colorado Men's Regional and the 2012 NCAA Women's West Regional.
THE FIELD: Competing alongside the Titans and Buffalos will be Denver, Houston Baptist, Loyola Marymount, Missouri-Kansas City, McNeese State, Missouri State, Nebraska, Northern Colorado, San Diego, Seattle, Texas-San Antonio, Towson, Utah State and Wyoming.
KEEP ME LIVE!: Live scoring will be available for both days at Birdiefire.com. Please click here or visit http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=6172 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.
IN THE RANKINGS: Following the completion of the first few weeks in the 2014-15 men's golf season, Cal State Fullerton is ranked No. 215 in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, facing a field that features four teams ranked within the top-100 in this week's tournament: Host Colorado highlights the field at No. 20, while Denver is No. 39, McNeese State is No. 70, Utah Valley is No. 96, UTSA is No. 103, Utah State is No. 108, UMKC is No. 110, Nebraska is No. 120, Houston Baptist is No. 136, San Diego is No. 137, Missouri State is No. 170, Loyola Marymount is No. 189, Northern Colorado is No. 194, Towson is No. 233 and Seattle completes the field unranked.
UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY: Next week will mark the first time since the men's golf program was reinstated in 2009 that the Titans will hit the links at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational. That makes it three consecutive first time tournaments following the program's first participation in the Saint Mary's Invitational last week, and the Southwestern Intercollegiate (Sept. 8-9) to open the season.
LAST TIME ON THE LINKS: The Cal State Fullerton men's golf team completed play at the Saint Mary's Invitational in 15th place (310-305-300—915, +51) at the Bayonet Golf Club in Seaside, Calif., on Sept. 15-16.
The tournament, alternating rounds between the Black Horse and Bayonet Golf Courses, included six teams currently ranked in the top-100 by Golfstat.com. UC Davis entered the tournament at No. 64, while Cal State Fullerton was No. 66, tournament champion San Diego was No. 71, host Saint Mary's was No. 84, San Francisco was No. 87 and Santa Clara was No. 96.
In his first action of his sophomore campaign, Cal State Fullerton's Kyle De Silva (+7, 223) paced the Titans for a tie in 30th place (72-75-76—223, +7) on the individual leaderboard.
Fullerton's Ryan Tetrault finishing tied for 51st place with an overall score of 12-over-par 228 (77-78-73). The senior from Villa Park, Calif., used his final round on the links to record four birdies over the final 18-holes including the team's only eagle at the 10th-hole.
Fellow CSF senior Josh Park chipped in a final score of 14-over-par 230 (83-73-74), concluding the two-day tournament in a tie for 62nd place.
Newcomer Nico Mendoza finished the tournament with an overall score of 23-over-par 239 (80-79-80), good for a tie in 89th.
Marcus Mercado made his Titans debut on the links, completing the five-man rotation in team competition, chalking up an overall score of 26-over-par 242 (81-84-77). The Orange Coast College transfer wrapped up his first event of 2014-15 tied in 89th place.
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. Tetrault garnered All-Big West First Team honors after carding six top-10 finishes in 2013-14. 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 welcome 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 
ROUNDS AT PAR OR BETTER IN 2014-15:
Ryan Tetrault (1):
68 (-3) – 3rd Round – Southwestern Intercollegiate, Sept. 9, 2014
Kyle De Silva (1):
72 (E) – 1st Round – Saint Mary's Invitational, Sept. 15, 2014
LOOKING BACK AT THE WRATH OF THE TITANS: 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).
TAP-INS:
• After posting a team-low score in the second round in seven of 12 tournaments in 2013-14, Fullerton continued that trend to open the 2014-15 campaign, firing a team-low 293 (+9) in the second round of the Southwestern Intercollegiate (Sept. 8-9).
• Ryan Tetrault recorded his 13th top-10 career finish after finishing eighth at the Southwestern Intercollegiate, including the sinking of four birdies over the final back-nine.
• Three Titans have taken over 400 strokes on the season (Tetrault 444; Park 450; Mendoza 471).
• Fullerton has had one under-70 round this season, accomplished by Tetrault in the third round of the Southwestern Intercollegiate after firing a 3-under-par 68.
• Four Titans own current season scoring averages of below 75.00 (Tetrault- 74.00, De Silva- 74.33, Park- 75.00, Choe- 75.00)