Western men’s golf took home its first win of the season and had four of five players finish in the top 10 in individual scoring at the Grand Canyon Invitational on Oct. 5-6 in Goodyear, Ariz.
Western sophomores Nick Varelia and Brian Barhanovich, the two youngest players on the five-man team, led the way for the Vikings, finishing second and third respectively behind Oklahoma City University senior Julian Valenciana in the 90-player field participating in the tournament.
“Having four top 10s in a field this large is almost unprecedented,” head coach Steve Card said. “It just shows you how tough the competition is out there when that type of finish is only good enough for a tie for the win.”
Western opened the three-round tournament by shooting 3-over-par 291 in the first round, but put up the best round score for any team with a 5-under-par 283 in the second round to hold a three-stroke lead over Oklahoma City heading into the final day of the event.
Oklahoma City closed the gap in the final round by shooting a 2-under-par 286 as a team, while Western shot a 1-over-par 289, giving both teams a 54-hole total of 1-under-par 863.
Western was awarded the first-place trophy because the Vikings had the best fifth-man score in the final round of the tournament, the official tiebreaker for the tournament.
Western junior Sam Ayotte’s final day score of 5-over-par 77 edged out Oklahoma City freshman Clark Collier’s score of 7-over-par 79 to secure the trophy for the Vikings.
Western junior Xavier Dailly and Western senior Julian Peters tied for eighth place, both shooting a 2-over-par 218 over the three rounds. It was Dailly’s second top-10 finish of the season, tying him with Ayotte for the most this year. Ayotte finished tied for 63rd in the tournament with a three-round total score of 20-over-par 236.
“We had a really positive vibe out there and we were having fun, which is huge in golf because it usually means wins,” Dailly said. “This was a huge confidence boost to our team, and it shows us that not only can we hang with the top teams in our region, we can go out there and beat them.”
Varelia finished with a total score of 3-under-par 213 and Barhanovich finished close behind with a total score of 2-under-par 214.
Varelia shot two under-par rounds—the most for any Viking—and did not shoot over par in any round.
Barhanovich provided Western’s lowest round score for the tournament, with a 3-under-par 69 in the second round.
“I think this was a breakthrough tournament for Nick and Brian,” Card said. “They have always been solid players for us in past years, but I was excited to see them go out there and feel the heat that comes from being at the top of the leader board in an event. Hopefully they can draw from this and continue to improve.”
Western had placed third and fourth respectively in the first two tournaments. Card said the win was huge for Western because it gave the Vikings an even record against regional opponents Chico State and Dixie State, who before this tournament were the only teams that had a better head-to-head record than Western.
“The performance that we put up was pretty incredible, having so many players at the top of the standings,” Peters said. “I think it sends a huge message to the other teams in our region that we have tremendous depth.”
Western finishes up its fall schedule at the Sonoma State Invitational on Oct. 19 and 20 at the Santa Rosa Country Club in Santa Rosa, Calif. and will resume their season March 1, 2010, in the California State San Bernardino Invitational.
“I think it is great timing the way we are coming together at this point in the season, and we are showing we are one of the top teams in our region,” Varelia said. “Now that we have shown ourselves what we can go out there and do we have much higher hopes for our season.”
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