The Sonoma State’s Men’s Golf team pushed themselves to their very hardest this past week with another top five finish. Last year’s CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament champions showed their class on the grass at the Battle in the Desert in San Bernardino.

This spring so far we’ve seen the team maintain that championship pedigree with only a slightly slower start. Although things have just gotten started the roads are ominous ahead. “I have mixed feelings,” said Jules Lavigne. “We all felt like we shouldn’t be this far down the leaderboard… but the team is still tuning up and we haven’t been doing as well as we can,” Lavigne said.

This last go-around in the Battle in the Desert was a valiant effort but it came a little late as their last round push only jumped them up three places and left them still in fifth place. “Every time we go out to play it is to win, and we didn’t accomplish that… what I will take away from it is the mental toughness that we showed,” Lavigne went on to say. The exact same placement befell the Seawolves in their previous tournament too, leaving much to be desired. The team left these tournaments knowing their best days are on the horizon. Nikolia Friedman believes that, “The team needs to find a way to start hot early on, so we don’t have to grind back after day one”.

The team’s next test is on March 13 at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Alameda. Mostly blue skies await them in this upcoming tournament which will be vital for improving their momentum in preparation for the CCAA tournament. Winning the CCAA Tournament once again is a chance to repeat history with 2009 being the only time this back-to-back feat was completed.

The tides have been shown to be shiftable in last week’s last round push up the ladder gave them a boost of confidence in these vital opening stages of the spring season. “We have a ton of talent and we are all shooting the scores we need, it’s just not all happening at once”, Griffin Pace explained. Taken aback by this start wouldn’t be any way to describe the Seawolves’ attitude at all this season. Quite the contrary as consistency has become the focus. “I’m looking forward to the rest of this season,” said Pace.  Lavigne added “we will be contending for trophies very soon.”

That last round energy is what the team is going to need to be a force in the rest of the campaign. As attention turns to the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Alameda the team is ready to make strides in a young season. For more information on the team and their future tournaments make sure to head over to https://sonomaseawolves.com/sports/mens-golf