FULLERTON, Calif. – After finishing eighth at the Southwestern Intercollegiate in Westlake Village, Calif., last weekend, the Cal State Fullerton men’s golf team return to the links and head to Seaside, Calif., to participate in the Saint Mary’s Invitational as one of 16 teams competing in the two-day tournament hosted by Saint Mary’s College on Monday-Tuesday.

THE COURSE: The two-day event will be contested at two par-72 courses over the 54-hole event. The Bayonet Golf Course will be playing at 7,104 yards of oak and cypress-lined fairways, while the Black Horse Golf Course measures at 7,024 yards and includes several scenic views of the Monterey Bay. Play begins at 8 a.m. on Monday for the first 36-holes, half taking place on the Bayonet GC and the final 18-holes for the day on the Black Horse GC. The tournament will conclude Tuesday for the final 18-holes at 8 a.m. on the Bayonet GC.  

Both courses are steeped in rich tradition, and have played host to PGA Tour greats such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Bubba Watson. The Bayonet and Black Horse courses have been credited with being two of the more popular courses on the Monterey Peninsula.


THE FIELD: Competing alongside the Titans will be a quintet of Big West foes in Cal Poly, CSUN, Long Beach State, UC Riverside and UC Davis. Host Saint Mary’s, Boise State, Florida Gulf Coast, Fresno State, Kansas State, Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount complete the 16-team field.

KEEP ME LIVE!: Live scoring will be available for both days at Birdiefire.com. Please click here or visit https://www.birdiefire.com/tournament/5844/ 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 opening week for men’s golf in the 2014-15 season, Cal State Fullerton is ranked No. 66 in the nation according to the Golfstat.com NCAA team rankings, facing a field that features five other teams ranked within the top-100 in this week's tournament: UC Davis leads the field at No. 64, while San Diego is No. 71, host Saint Mary’s is No. 84, San Francisco is No. 87, Santa Clara is No. 96, Cal Poly is No. 114, Loyola Marymount is No. 115, Florida Gulf Coast is No. 119, Long Beach State is No. 120, Kansas State is No. 127, Pacific is No. 151, Fresno State is No. 165, UC Riverside is No. 167, CSUN is No. 175 and Boise State completes the field at No. 185.


According to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, Fullerton is one of five top-100 ranked teams in the competition rated at No. 67; UC Davis highlights the participants at No. 56, while host Saint Mary’s is No.56, San Diego is No. 63, San Francisco is No. 97, Santa Clara is No. 102, Long Beach State is No. 113, Kansas State is No. 125, Florida Gulf Coast is No. 126, Loyola Marymount is No. 129, Pacific is No. 137, Cal Poly is No. 139, UC Riverside is No. 165, CSUN is No. 177, Fresno State is No. 180 and Boise State rounds out the field at No. 190.


BACK-TO-BACK FIRST OCCASIONS: 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 Saint Mary’s Invitational. That makes it back-to-back first time tournaments following the program’s first participation in the Southwestern Intercollegiate last week.

California carded an 854 (-10) to garner the 2013 Saint Mary’s Invitational team title, while San Diego’s Grant Forrest posted a 7-under-par 209 to clinch the individual championship.


LAST TIME OUT: Cal State Fullerton opened the 2014-15 campaign at the Southwestern Intercollegiate in Westlake Village, Calif., on Sept. 9-10. After finishing in 10th place after the first two-rounds, the Titans improved two slots in the final round to finish eighth (303-293-297—893, +41) at the North Ranch Country Club.

Senior Ryan Tetrault led the way for the Titans after firing a team best 68 (-3) in the final round, moving up 17 slots to finish tied for ninth place with an overall score of 3-over-par 216. Fellow CSF senior Josh Park chipped in a final score of 220 (+7), climbing up two positions from the first day of competition to record a tie for 18th place. Park led the team with a total of 10 birdies.

Michael Choe posted a total score of 225 (+12), good for a tie in 39th place. Choe's tournament was highlighted by two-eagles, both on the 15th-hole of the North Ranch CC in the second and third round. The junior was the only student-athlete among 72 golfers who recorded more than one eagle over the event.

Nico Mendoza recorded an overall score of 232 (+19), landing in a tie for 58th in his first three-round tournament of the season. Freshman Mark Cobey hit the links as an individual participant and chalked up a 55th place finish and an overall score of 17-over-par 230.

Martin Manalo completed the five-man rotation for Fullerton in team competition as the sophomore finished in 69th place after tallying an overall mark of 243 (+30).

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 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 in 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

TAP-INS:

• Ryan Tetrault was the only Titan to post a round at-par or better at the Southwestern Intercollegiate, carding a 3-under-par 68 on Sept. 9.

• 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.

• Tetrault also recorded his 13th top-10 career finish after recording an eighth place finish at the Southwestern Intercollegiate (Sept. 9-10), including the sinking of four birdies in the final back-nine.

• Santiago Canyon College transfer Nico Mendoza (80-74-78—232, +19) and freshman Mark Cobey (73-76-81—230, +17) each made their Fullerton debuts at the two-day Southwestern Intercollegiate, respectively.

WRATH OF THE 2013-14 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).


WE'RE HONORED: 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

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 2014 Big West 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.