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Stanislaus golf edged out of conference title
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On a soggy day at the Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles, the 2010 California Collegiate Athletic Association men's golf championship came down to the wire in a tight battle between two teams.
In the end, the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors ran into a Cal State Monterey Bay team that played its best tournament of the year as the Otters edged the Warriors for their first conference championship on Tuesday. The see-saw battle on the day turned the eight-team event into a two-team race with Cal State Monterey Bay shooting a 289 in the final round to win by one-stroke over the Warriors (856-857).
Following the tournament, Cal State Stanislaus coach John Cook earned the CCAA Coach of the Year award and players Brandon Taylor and Trevor Blair both earned all-conference honors.
Otter leader John Jackson also won individual medalist honors, making it the second straight year a CSUMB player won the title. Jackson won by four shots as he held off Stanislaus golfers Teddy Schrier and J.T. Cockerill both finished second at four-under 212.
For the Warriors, they came up short on the bid to win the conference championship for the fourth time. Cal State Stanislaus last won in 2007. It is also the first time in a month that Stanislaus did not win a tournament. The Warriors had won four of their last six tournaments entering the CCAA Championships.
After Cal State Stanislaus led by three halfway through the final round at nine-under par, the Warriors started to get into trouble. Collectively, as a five-man team, the Warriors had 10 bogeys and a double-bogey in the final nine to open up the opportunity for Monterey Bay.
To give CSUMB credit, the Otters took advantage behind the solid play of Jackson who nailed five birdies on the back nine. Dylan Jackson also hit two birdies and Oskar Nystrom turned a four-over score into a plus-two with back-to-back birdies in the final two holes, perhaps making the biggest difference in the final count.
Cockerill, the Warriors' leader after Monday, got off to a bad start with a double-bogey on No. 1, and never really recovered until the final stretch. He brilliantly nailed two birdies ahead of an eagle on No. 17 to get himself at even par before a bogey to finish one-over for the day.
Trevor Blair, who was at one-under after the first two rounds, finished with a one-over 217 total for seventh. Blair batted to even par at the turn before two more bogeys at No. 11 and No. 16.
Brandon Taylor shot an one-under 71 in round three as four Stanislaus players finished in the top 10. He had five birdies to counter four bogeys in the final round.
Joseph Stewart rounded out the Stanislaus team with a seven-over 223 total for 17th.
Two-time defending champion Sonoma State finished third, 19 back of winner, with a 875 total. Cal State San Bernardino was fourth (883) and No. 1 ranked Chico State fifth (889). UC San Diego (903), Cal State Dominguez Hills (917) and Cal State East Bay (918) completes the tournament field.
The Warriors will next be in action the first week of May at the NCAA West Regional tournament at the Classic Club in Palm Desert.