Anteaters Return to Action at Sacramento State Invitational

Monday, March 2

Valley Hi Country Club - Elk Grove, Calif.

8:30 AM

UC Irvine

Sacramento State Invitational

Anteaters Return to Action at Sacramento State Invitational

February 28, 2020 | Men's Golf

Sacramento State Invitational
Dates: March 2-3 (Monday-Tuesday)
Time: 8:30 a.m. shotgun start
Location: Valley Hi Country Club
Par/Yardage: Par 72 - 6,514 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team will head to Northern California for the Sacramento State Invitational, March 2-3. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be played in Elk Grove at Valley Hi Country Club (par-72, 6,514 yards). Two rounds are set for Monday, while the final 18 holes are slated for Tuesday. Both days will have an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.

Six of the 10 teams in the field are Big West members as the Anteaters will be joined by Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara, along with British Columbia, Omaha, Weber State and host Sacramento State. Denver also has individuals competing in the tournament.

UCI's 5-count-4 lineup is comprised of Jonathan Kang, Ramiz Jamal, Anthony Truong, Parker Lestz and Ethan Han.

STORYLINES
• This is the fourth year in a row UC Irvine will compete in the Sacramento State Invitational.
• In their last three appearances, the 'Eaters had a high finish of third in 2018.
• This is the Anteaters' third tournament of the 2020 spring season.
• They previously tied for fourth at the OC Collegiate Classic and came in 17th at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.
• Senior Jonathan Kang is tops on the team with a 72.66 scoring average.
• Kang has finished at or below par in eight of 15 rounds played with three sub-70 scores.
• He jumped 30 spots in the standings over the final two rounds of the OC Collegiate Classic to tie for sixth.
• Senior Ramiz Jamal ranks second on the squad with a 73.73 average.
• Jamal shot a single-round season-best 68 at the Nick Watney Invitational on Sept. 30.
• Sophomore Ethan Han will be making his 2019-20 debut as UCI's No. 5 at the Sacramento State Invitational.
• UC Irvine has a veteran squad with eight letterwinners returning, including all five starters from 2018-19.
• Nearly half of the roster is comprised of seniors (4), all of whom were part of last year's Big West runner-up squad.
• Jamal and Kang also played a key role in the Anteaters' 2018 Big West title.

OTHER NEWS & NOTES
• Sophomore Parker Lestz has competed in every tournament this year with a scoring average of 75.33.
• Lestz is coming off a season-best 221 (+5) at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii, Feb. 20-22.
• Senior Anthony Truong also carded a season-best 4-over 220 last week.
• Truong earned 2019 All-Big West honorable mention recognition after placing fourth at the conference championships.
• Ramiz Jamal garnered second-team All-Big West honors in 2018-19.
• Jamal led the 'Eaters with a career-best 72.84 average, a two-stroke improvement from 2017-18.
• He had 10 rounds at or below par with 75 birdies and two eagles, one of which was his first collegiate hole-in-one.
• Jonathan Kang had a top-10 finish at the 2018 and 2019 Big West Championships.
• Sophomore Matt Gunson led all freshmen at last year's conference tournament where he tied for 10th.
• Gunson played in eight of UC Irvine's 10 tournaments in 2018-19, finishing with a 74.38 scoring average.
• Senior Chris Casey had a 75.00 average in his first season at Irvine after transferring from Orange Coast College.
• Sophomore Nathan Irwin saw his first action of the season playing as UCI's No. 5 at the OC Collegiate Classic.
• Sophomore transfer Trueman Park is the Anteaters' lone newcomer. He played at Little Rock in 2017-18.
• Park was the 2015 Division I State Champion at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona.

UP NEXT
• The 'Eaters will make their first out-of-state trip of the 2019-20 campaign for the GCU Invitational, March 13-14.