October 25, 2004

In another tournament packed with nationally-ranked teams, Saint Martin's finished 9th out of 17, with rounds of 283, 294, and 308 fpr a total of 885 at 21 over.  Hawaii-Hilo, the top-ranked team in the nation, easily won the Cal-State Bakersfield Invitational held at the Bakersfield Golf and Country Club, with a six-under 858, last Monday and Tuesday.  The Vulcans were the only team to finish below par.

Saints All-American Shane Prante narrowly missed his third tournament title of the fall season by finishing in a three-way tie for second, two strokes behind Colin Gilliam of UHH who finished five-under at 211.  Prante, who medaled at the Western Washington Invite and Chico State Invite, shot rounds of 67, 70, and 76 for 213 at three-under-par.

Jordan Burns (T28, 221), Kris Swanson (T57, 228), Chris Westrum (T60, 229), and Jared Bouchey (T70, 232) also scored for the Saints who moved up to third in the Golfstat national poll.  Prante continues to be the highest ranked golfer in division II with an average round of 69.45 that places him fifth among all collegiate golfers.

The Bakersfield invite ended the fall segment of the Saints golf season.  The Saints will continue their quest for regional and national championships with tournaments to be announced in the spring. Golfstat National Rankings, NCAA Division II

Team                            Adjusted Avg.
1. Hawaii-Hilo, U. of            71.80 
2. CSU-Bakersfield               72.74  
3. St. Martin's College         72.07 
4. South Carolina-Aiken        73.21    
5. Western Washington        72.36   
6. UC San Diego                   72.69   
7. Central Oklahoma            73.19   
8. Florida Gulf Coast U         73.23   
9 Grand Canyon Univ.           73.25

Mark McGreevy, Sports Information Director
Email contact: SMC Athletics
(360) 438-4328