JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. – Senior
Witchayapat Sinsrang was the individual medalist, and the Omaha men's golf team earned its first tournament win of the year at The Joust at Goose Creek hosted by California Baptist.
Sinsrang and the Mavericks completed their wire-to-wire victory with a team score of 306 in round three, finishing at 870. They were nine strokes clear of Cal Poly in second at 879. Seattle was third at 883. The Mavericks' score ties the second-best 54-hole team score in school history.
Sinsrang closed the tournament with a two-over round of 72 for a 54-hole total of 208, two under for the event. He becomes the first Maverick to finish as the overall winner of a tournament since Kevin Gordon won the Summit League Championship in May of 2016. Sinsrang clinched first overall with a birdie at the last.
"The guys were prepared," said head coach
Seth Porter. "They've been ready to get outside for a while. Today, they fought through some tough conditions with winds gusting up to 45 miles an hour. They worked hard today, and the result is a testament to the work they put in."
"We were excited to be outside and get away from the cold," said Sinsrang. "The first day was a good day to make some birdies. It was a tough day today with the wind."
Freshman
Josh Peters also finished in the top 10, tying for ninth with a total score of 218. He closed the tournament with a round of 78.
Peters was one stroke ahead of teammate
Nick Kagy who tied for 13th with a score of 219, a total that included a score of 77 in round three.
Josh Bartels was fourth on the team and tied for 42nd in the field of 85 golfers. He closed with a round of 79 for a 54-hole total of 228.
Phoomintr Kaewvichien finished the team scoring for the Mavericks with a total of 251.
The tournament victory was UNO's first since winning the South Dakota Coyote Classic in September of 2014. That was the last season of Omaha's reclassification to Division I.
The Mavericks have little time to savor their victory. They return to California next week to play in the Sacramento State Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, March 2-3.
