The Seawolves finished off the regular season strong with an impressive second-place performance in the NCAA West Regional Spring Preview at Foxtail Golf Club on Tuesday, April 11.

On the morning of the first round, two Seawolves scored pars or better. But in the afternoon, SSU improved, achieving the lowest team score in the second round. After the second round, the Seawolves found themselves tied for first with Cal State San Marcos going into the last day.

Senior Seawolf, Griffin Pace recorded the second-lowest individual score of the tournament in the second round, with four birdies and an eagle with a total stroke count of 5-under-par 67.

Fellow senior, Jules Lavigne recorded tournament-leading five birdies in the second round, finishing 1-under-par for his best round of the tournament. Lavigne averaged 4.07 strokes per par 4, finishing in the top 10 of the tournament in par 4 scorings.

Aidan Oliver and Lucas Happy each scored 1-over-par for the second round, concluding a dominant performance for the Seawolves, with nearly 20 birdies combined amongst the five Seawolves.

Colin Huang impressed with the team’s lowest score in the final round, with 68, scoring 4-under-par. Huang captured four birdies and suffered zero bogeys, completing the perfect day for the sophomore. This performance helped Huang tie with Pace for fifth place in the tournament.

Huang, a sophomore in his first year on the team, said, “[the perfect round] really put a smile on my face because it felt like all of my hard work from this season showcased itself coming down the stretch.”

Unfortunately, the San Marcos Cougars pulled ahead with an impressive score of 281, coming in 7-under-par, while the Seawolves came in at 291 and 3-over-par.

Lavigne and Pace scored 1-over-par and 2-over-par respectively, helping the Seawolves hold off Hawaii Hilo and capture sole possession of second place in the tournament.

Senior, Lucas Happy, said that the team’s positive attitudes on the course were pivotal in this performance, and will be key in the postseason. He continued, “We haven’t really played to our potential this spring, and this tournament was a step in the right direction and gives us confidence moving forward.”

Going into the postseason tournament, Happy says that he wants to work on getting more confident in his putting and trusting his own decision-making. He added that the team just has to focus on keeping their spirits high while they play and nothing will be able to stop them from winning it all this year.

Huang shared a similar sentiment, saying his biggest takeaway from the event is to maintain a positive mindset on the course. He continued, “Having a solid finish for the team has been really important for morale and gives us momentum as we head into the postseason.”

After this performance, the Seawolves are ranked tenth in NCAA Division II according to Golfstat.com. SSU will travel to Riverside next week, where they will compete in the CCAA Championship at Victoria Golf Club.