May 19, 2011
Contact: Greg Murphy
RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. - Cleveland State shot an opening round 303 and is in 13th place after the opening round of the NCAA Regional Men's Golf Championship being played at the par-72, 6,903-yard The Farms G.C.
CSU, which won the Horizon League Championship on April 24 to earn the automatic bid, is playing in the NCAA Regional for the third time in the last four years and the fourth time in the last six seasons.
"We got off to a hot start on the front nine, but lost it a bit on the back," head coach Steve Weir said. "We did some good things out there and we are going to have to come back and limit our mental mistakes during the final two rounds. I think we proved that we are capable of playing at a high level and now we have to find a way to sustain that for all 18 holes."
CSU had things going through the first nine holes, sitting at one-over-par after Kent Monas, the Vikings final golfer, birdied the par-5, ninth hole. It moved CSU into second place on the leader board.
"Michael (Klaric) got us off to a great start with two pars and a birdie and I thought the other guys really fed off that over the front nine," Weir said. "But we got into a little trouble on the back nine and it cost us some shots. That being said, this thing isn't over at all. There are still 36 holes left and we're going to come out ready to play tomorrow and try to make a run."
Klaric used a pair of birdies on the front nine for a two-under-par 34. After a birdie on the 10th hole, he made three bogeys to finish with an even-par 72 (34-36), putting him tied for 16th place.
Kent Monas, the Horizon League Player of the Year, used birdies on the par-5, ninth and 18th holes en route to a 75 (38-37) and is tied for 34th place, while Patrick Elber is tied for 53rd after a round of 78 that included an ever-par 36 on the front nine.
CSU continues play at the NCAA Regionals with the second round on Friday (May 20). The final round will be played on Saturday.
The Vikings will tee off beginning at 9:40 a.m. PST (12:40 p.m. in Cleveland) off the 10th tee to start round two.
The top five teams from the San Diego regional and the low individual not from those five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship which will be held from May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
CSU RESULTS
T-16. Michael Klaric, 72
T-34. Kent Monas, 75
T-53. Patrick Elber, 78
T-60. Andrew Bailey, 79
72. Drew Davidson, 82
TEAM STANDINGS
1. USC, 278
T-2. UCLA, 287
T-2. Texas, 287
4. North Texas, 293
5. San Diego, 294
T-6. SMU, 295
T-6. UNLV, 295
T-8. Pacific, 298
T-8. San Francisco, 298
T-8. Middle Tennessee State, 298
T-11. Tulsa, 300
T-11. Ohio State, 300
13. Cleveland State, 303
