HOUSTON, Texas - The Gonzaga University men's golf team carded a seven-over par 295 Tuesday afternoon to finish in ninth place at the Rice Intercollegiate hosted by Rice University at Westwood Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The Bulldogs finished the two day, 54-hole tournament with a finally tally of 905.
Tuesday's 18-hole score of 295 was the lowest of the tournament for Gonzaga, who had opened the spring season posting scores of 309 and 301. It also tied for the sixth-best score Tuesday, with only one school posting a below par score.
"Today I saw the team play with a competitive attitude rather than worrying about their golf swings," explained Gonzaga head coach Robert Gray. "That was great to see this early in the season after only three rounds of golf outside before we got to Houston."
Gray specifically pointed out the adjustment to the final four holes for each player.
"We happened to finish on the same four holes that we finished on yesterday, but today we played them in one-over par," Gray explained. "That's a six shot improvement over our best finish yesterday and it was the difference between us moving up two spots to ninth or dropping a spot on the leaderboard."
Gonzaga had entered into the final round in 11th place but because of the vast improvement on the final four holes claimed ninth place with a two-shot lead over 10th place Lipscomb University and a five-shot edge over 11th place Florida Atlantic.
The Bulldogs were paced in the tournament by both Erik Krzyzanowski and Peter Gullickson; each posting a one-over par 73 Tuesday. Krzyzanowski ended the tournament tied for 22nd with an eight-over par 224 (75-76-73), while Gullickson tied for 27 with a 10-over par 226 (79-74-73).
"Erik played steady all week and with just five rounds of golf under his belt since last October in an unfamiliar course, that was fantastic," stated Gray. "Peter didn't hit the ball particularly well this week but showed why he's our veteran and team captain by bouncing back strong after his first round to end the final 36 holes in 3-over par under breezy conditions."
Sophomore Sean Walsh posted Gonzaga's lowest score of the day and tournament, finishing with a one-under par 71.
"Sean found his form today and posted a great round of 1-under, 71 for the fifth lowest score of the day," said Gray.
Rounding out play for Gonzaga was junior James Fahy and Sean Carlino. Fahy posted a 78 Tuesday and a 232 for the tournament (81-73-78), while Carlino carded a 79 on the final 18-holes for a final score of 238 (81-78-79).
"James is usually a very consistent ball striker and this is the worst I've seen him hit the ball since his freshman year," explained Gray of Fahy's uncharacteristic play. "Like Peter, he battled through it to post a solid second round and grounded out a 78 after being plus-5 after his first six holes. We've talked about how important it is keep fighting despite your start and not assume the team won't use your score. This is a great example."
For the first tournament of the spring, Gray was overall pleased with his team.
"Overall, we made solid strides this week," said Gray. "We didn't finish as high as we had expected but we improved each day. The more we get onto grass, the quicker we can find consistency."
The University of Texas at San Antonio won the tournament for the second-consecutive year with a 54-hole score of 875. Old Dominion's Jamison Randall earned medalist honors, winning the individual title with a five-under par 211 (72-70-69).
The Bulldogs are back in action next Monday and Tuesday at the Snowman Getaway hosted at Palm Valley Golf Course in Goodyear, Ariz.
Rice Intercollegiate (February 17-18) - Final Results
Westwood Golf Club - Houston, Texas - 7,184-yard, par-72
Weather: Partly sunny, 75 degrees. Wind: 10-15 mph.
9 Gonzaga 309 301 295 905 +41
T 22 Erik Krzyzanowski 75 76 73 224 +8
T 27 Peter Gullickson 79 74 73 226 +10
T 50 James Fahy 81 73 78 232 +16
T 76 Sean Carlino 81 78 79 238 +22
84 Sean Walsh 74 DQ 71 225 +9
