THIS WEEK: After taking nearly a month off from competition, the Cal State Fullerton men's golf team returns to the links after finishing in a tie for third place at the 2013 Dash Thomas Memorial Tournament at the BanBury Golf Course in Eagle, Idaho. Monday, the team travels to Simi Valley, Calif. to participate in the 2013 Bill Cullum Invitational hosted by Cal State Northridge. Fullerton will be one of 20 teams competing in the two-day tournament on Monday and Tuesday.
THE COURSE: This week's event will be held at the 6,972-yard Wood Ranch Golf Club and will play at Par 72 for the tournament. Teams will play 36 holes during Monday's first round and second rounds, and concludes with 18 holes on Tuesday. Play begins at 7:30 a.m. PT on Monday, while the final round begins at 7 a.m. PT.
THE FIELD: Arizona State, CSU Bakersfield, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Gonzaga, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, San Diego, Seattle, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State, Cal State Northridge.
RESULTS: Please visit Fullertontitans.com for scores as they become available. Complete results will be posted live on Golfstat.com, and on the Cal State Northridge athletics website at gomatadors.com.
IN THE RANKINGS: Cal State Fullerton is ranked No. 124 in the nation according to the Golfstat.com NCAA Head-to-Head rankings. The field features a top-25 team in No. 24 Arizona State, and also a top-100 team in UC Irvine at No. 98. There are four teams ranked inside the top 150: San Diego is (No. 101), Long Beach State is (No. 125), Pepperdine is (No. 134), and Sacramento State is (139). on the golfstat.com website.
AT THE BILL CULLUM INVITAIONAL: The tournament hosted by Cal State Northridge will mark the fifth consecutive year the Titans have participated in the event since the program was reinstated in 2009. Last season, the Titans shot an 868 to finish four-over-par, good for a fourth-place finish, and good enough for their best finish at the Bill Cullum Invitational.
BIG WEST HONOR FOR TITAN: Mark Anguiano was named the Big West Conference Golfer of the Month for September. Anguaino's award is the first for the men's program since the sport returned to campus in 2009.
TITANS STORM INTO THIRD: Standing in a tie for seventh after the first 36 holes on Sept. 23 at the Bash Thomas Memorial, the Titans combined to shoot an even-par 284 in the final round to match Seattle University and post their second, top-three finish of the season. Fullerton finished 14 shots off the pace of tournament champion Sacramento State and just two shots behind Idaho for second place.
ANGUANA RUNNER-UP IN IDAHO: At the Dash Thomas Memorial, senior Mark Anguiano, shot a final round 66 to finish second overall and help Cal State Fullerton shoot the lowest final round of the day to rush up the leader board and finish tied for third. Utah State's Tanner Higham took home the individual honors with an 8-under-par 205, just one shot ahead of Anguiano.
FIRST TRIP TO IDAHO: The Titans traveled to Idaho for the first time since the program was reinstated in 2009. Last season, Fullerton played in three tournaments outside of California finishing in fourth, eighth, and 12th place. (Washington, Hawaii, Arizona)
ITANI QUALITY HOMES COLLEGIATE: The Cal State Fullerton men's golf team made a late rally to top the leaderboard, but fell just one stroke short of Washington State at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate on Sept. 9-10. The Titans shot 837 (-2) over two days of play.
MAKING HIS MARK: Mark Anguiano was the highest finishing Titan at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, after shooting a third round 65 on (Sept. 10), and finishing six-under par overall. Anguiano finished tied for third overall after shooting 204. The 65 score by Anguiano was the best individual round since John San Juan shot a 65 at the Del Walker Invitational on Oct. 22, 2009.
Also at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, senior Corey Gard shot a final round 71 (+1) to finish tied for fifth place with a total score of 207. He shot a 4-under, 66, in round one and an even-par, 70, in the second round. Junior Ryan Tetrault finished strong for the Titans, finishing tied for fifth overall with a total score of 207. Redshirt senior Scott Rubzin shot a 223 overall to finish tied for 55th overall. Josh Park finished the tournament tied for 65th with an overall score of 225.
ROUNDS AT PAR OR BETTER IN 2013-14:
Mark Anguiano (6):
65 (-5) – 3rd Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 10, 2013
66 (-5) – 3rd Round – Dash Thomas Memorial, Sept. 24, 2013
69 (-1) – 2nd Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 9, 2013
70 (E) – 1st Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 9, 2013
70 (-1) – 2nd Round – Dash Thomas Memorial, Sept. 23, 2013
70 (-1) – 1st Round – Dash Thomas Memorial, Sept. 22, 2013
Corey Gard (4):
66 (-4) – 1st Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 9, 2013
70 (E) – 2nd Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 9, 2013
70 (-1) – 3rd Round – Dash Thomas Memorial, Sept. 24, 2013
71 (E) – 2nd Round – Dash Thomas Memorial, Sept. 23, 2013
Ryan Tetrault (2):
67 (-3) – 2nd Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 9, 2013
68 (-2) – 3rd Round – Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Sept. 10, 2013
TAP-INS:
- Following the Bill Cullum Invitational, the Titans travel back to Hawaii for the second consecutive year, to participate in the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational Nov. 4-7.
- In their next tournament, Scott Rubzin and Corey Gard will play their 100th career rounds as a Titan. Rubzin (99) and Gard (97) will become the third and fourth Titan's respectively to join the 100-career rounds. Joining teammate Mark Anguiano (100) and Dakota Duerr (127).
- After finishing runner-up at the Dash Thomas Memorial, Anguiano has now recorded 13 top-ten finishes in his career, breaking a tie with Dakota Duerr for the most since the program was reinstated in 2009.
- With Anguiano's back-to-back top-five finishes, he has also surpassed Dakota Duerr for the most all-time with six.
- Mark Anguiano has also recorded six straight rounds at par or better to start the season.
- The Titans improved from 2012 to 2013 in the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate. In 2012, playing the same course at Par 72, Fullerton finish 38-over par compared to three-under par at Par 70.
- Mark Anguiano, Corey Gard, and Ryan Tetrault all set new career 54-hole tournament bests at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate. Anguiano shot a 204, while Gard and Tetrault both recorded a 207 overall score.
- Anguiano's 204 overall score also sets the Fullerton record for lowest 54-hole individual score since the program was reinstated in 2009. Dakota Duerr set the previous record with a score of 207 at last season's Del Walker Intercollegiate in Long Beach, Calif.
- Fullerton set a new lowest 54-hole team score at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate (Sept. 9-10), as the Titans shot an 837, which breaks the previous best score of 849 at the Del Walker Intercollegiate on Feb. 25-26, 2013.
- Scott Rubzin returned to action for the Titans at the Itan Quality Homes Collegiate after missing the entire 2012-13 season. The redshirt senior shot a 223 (+13) to finish tied for 55th. Rubzin tallied seven birdies and nine bogeys in his first tournament since 2011.
A LOOK AT THE TITANS: Fullerton returns four of its golfers that were in the lineup for the 2013 Big West Conference Championships, including senior Mark Anguiano, who earned All-Big West First Team honors last season. Senior Corey Gard and junior Ryan Tetrault also return after receiving All-Big West Second Team accolades in 2013. The Titans will have to replace four-year starter Dakota Duerr, but redshirt senior Scott Rubzin returns to the lineup after missing last season due to an injury. Fullerton welcomes four newcomers to the fold this season in freshman Kyle De Silva (Orange, Calif./Villa Park HS), Martin Manalo (West Covina, Calif./Servite HS), Matt Murphy (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), and Hunter Thompson (Richland, Wash./Richland HS).
SEASON SCHEDULE: Cal State Fullerton's 2013-14 campaign features ten tournaments before the Big West Championship and NCAA Regionals. The Folino Invitational will again highlight the Titans season. The fourth annual Folino Invitational has became one of the premier collegiate golf events and will be hosted at the Industry Hills Golf Club in the City of Industry, Calif., on Feb. 16-18. Fullerton will also head to various states this season, including Arizona, Idaho, and Hawaii.
A LOOK BACK AT 2012-13: Fullerton, a program reinstated in 2009, claimed its first conference championship in school history last season. The team eventually lost to Pacific in a playoff to clinch an automatic NCAA berth, but the Titans ended its most successful season winning two tournaments and finishing second in three tournaments (Firestone Grill, Sacramento State Invite, Anteater Invite). Head coach Jason Drotter was named the 2013 Big West Coach of the Year, while four student-athletes took home All-Big West honors.