Cats Claw Back to Take Fifth at Pacific Invitational

"I thought the guys really played well," said head coach Tim Norris. "When you look back and see we were only 11 shots from winning, that's not a bad tournament. The guys played with some patience today because they needed to. It was nice to see Joe Ida make about a 50-foot bunker shot for birdie and Mitch (Gregson) made a 20-footer down hill for birdie to finish off the fall. We had a nice score today from Curtis (Yonke) at even par. I thought the guys did a really good job today."

UC Davis won the event with a 20-under par 832. Brigham Young followed in second place, posting a 19-over par 833. Oregon, who started the final round in first place, slipped to third place with an 18-under par 834. Fresno State was In fourth place with a 10-over par 842.

Tyler Raber of UC Davis took home the individual title with a 14-under par 199. In second place was Eugene Wong of Oregon with a 10-under par 203.

The Wildcats were led by Gregson who posted a 5-under par 66 in the final round Wednesday, giving him a three-round total of 8-under par 205 to earn fourth place. The 66 ties Gregson's season best single round score and the fourth place finish is his third top-five finish of the fall.

"He has had some success on this course before and he did a good job of picking his spots," said Norris. "I always say that when he is on there is not a hole that he can't birdie. It was a good way for him to finish the fall. Now it is time for him to relax, regroup and get ready for the spring."

Ida tied for 13th place after firing a 3-under par 210. Jason Schulte carded a 4-over par 217 to finish tied for 33rd.

Yonke finished the tournament in 41st place after shooting a 7-over par 220. Senior Joe Kinney carded an 8-over par 221 to tie for 42nd place.

The Wildcats will resume play on March 8-9, 2009, at the Fresno State Classic in Fresno, Calif.

Stockton, Calif.
Brookside Country Club
Par 71 6,757 yards

Team Scores: 2. UC Davis, 273-273-286-832 (-20); 2. Brigham Young, 279-279-275-833 (-19); 3. Oregon, 273-272-289-834 (-18); 4. Fresno State, 281-273-288-842 (-10); 5. Kansas State, 284-279-280-843 (-9); 6. St  Mary's, 280-276-288-844 (-8); 7. Denver, 281-276-290-847 (-5); 8. Pacific, 278-284-286-848 (-4); 9.Cal State Northridge, 282-291-290-863 (+11); 10. San Jose State, 296-282-291-869 (+17); 11. Sacramento State, 288-286-297-871 (+19); 12. Cal State Fullerton, 287-299-298-884 (+32)

Top Individuals: 1. Tyler Rabner, UC Davis, 64-63-72-199 (-14); 2. Eugene Wong, Oregon, 64-66-73-203 (-10);  3. Brady Johnson, Brigham Young, 70-68-66-204 (-9); 4. Mitchell Gregson, Kansas State, 69-70-66-205 (-8)

K-State Individuals: 4. Mitchell Gregson, 69-70-66-205 (-8); T13. Joe Ida, 71-69-70-210 (-3); T33. Jason Schulte, 74-67-76-217 (+4); 41. Curtis Yonke, 76-73-71-220 (+7); T42. Joe Kinney, 70-78-73-221 (+8);

- k-statesports.com -