Golf team finds success as spring play commences

The Mountain Lions began the second portion of their season on March 22 at the Notre Dame De Namur Invitational in Livermore, CA. The team shot 300 for the tournament and finished in eighth place out of the fifteen teams that competed.

Junior Chris Shoop led the team, shooting two-under-par with a score of 70 in the final round of play. His three-round score of 216, which was a solid par finish for the tournament, left him in sixth place for the individual medal race.

Head coach Phil Trujillo showed mixed feelings about the team's performance but remained optimistic. "I wasn't expecting much in our first event, especially with the winter that we had," said Trujillo.

"The team hasn't been able to get out much and we've played very few 18-hole rounds. I didn't quite expect it to be that bad though. The scores were lower than what they should have been but I'm confident in them and we know we're better than that. The top ranked teams all have five guys playing well and so far we haven't done that."

Freshman Spencer Biersdorff followed Shoop with a score of 225, which tied him for 27th overall. Juniors Brian Morfeld, Riley Andrews and Taylor Stamp scored 229, 231 and 259, respectively.

The Grand Canyon Invitational on March 30 brought the Mountain Lions more success as they competed in the hotter climate of Goodyear, AZ. The team obtained a fifth place finish due in part to successful play from Junior Riley Andrews, who shot 211 overall and two under-par in the final round. Freshman Spencer Biersdorff shot an impressive four under-par 68 in the final round and followed Andrews with a score of 215.

UCCS entered the Grand Canyon Invitational ranked No. 19 nationally in the Golfstat rankings and No. 20 in the Golf World / Nike coaches' poll. "The GolfStat ranking is the best one because it's based strictly on how you play against the other top ranked teams," added Trujillo. "They had us at 15 and that is where we should be."

The Mountain Lions will have one more tournament to sharpen their skills before the RMAC Spring Championships. UCCS will compete in the Air Force JV Tournament on April 12-13 and the team may be looking for better weather. "The boys expect the weather to be this way this time of year so our spirits are not down," said Trujillo. "We know the sun is coming out soon and we will be happy to see it."