at UC San Diego Invitational
Dates: March 21-22 (Monday-Tuesday)
Time: 9 a.m. (PDT)
Location: La Costa Champions Course - Carlsbad, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par 72, 7,151 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team is back in action next week, traveling to Carlsbad, California, for the UC San Diego Invitational, March 21-22.
 
The tournament will be held at the par-72, 7,151-yard La Costa Champions Course. Two rounds are set for Monday, while the final 18 holes will be contested on Tuesday. Both days will have a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
 
The Anteaters are part of a 14-team field that features Chapman, CSUN, Dixie State, Florida A&M, Hawai'i, Prairie View, Sacramento State, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Weber State, Yale and host UC San Diego. San Diego State will also have four individuals competing.
 
Kolbe Irei, Darien Zhao, Nathan Irwin, Henry Fitzhugh and Matt Gunson make up UCI's 5-count-4 lineup.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine finished 12th overall at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, California, March 2-4. The Anteaters climbed four spots in the standings after registering a spring season-best 280 (-8) in the final round. Nathan Irwin led the 'Eaters as he tied for 29th with a 54-hole score of 218 (78-72-68). He had a clean scorecard with four birdies and 14 pars for a collegiate-best 4-under 68 in the third round. Kolbe Irei also carded a 68 with a team-high six birdies to move up 37 spots into a tie for 47th. He concluded the tournament at 5-over 221 (78-75-68). Darien Zhao (74-72-74) and Henry Fitzhugh (71-77-72) also tied for 41st with a total of 220, while Johnny Bai rounded out the Anteater lineup in 89th (229).
 
NEWS & NOTES
• The Anteaters will be competing in the UCSD Invitational at La Costa Champions for the second-straight year.
• In 2021, UC Irvine tied for third, with Darien Zhao and Nathan Irwin notching top-10 individual finishes (T9th).
• UCI kicked off the spring season on one of its home courses for the fourth year in a row.
• The 'Eaters co-hosted the Orange County Collegiate Classic at Coto de Caza in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
• In 2019, they began the spring portion of their schedule with the Anteater Invitational at Big Canyon CC.
• Kolbe Irei earned his first collegiate victory, winning the individual title at the OC Collegiate Classic, Feb. 7-8.
• Irei came in at even-par 216 with a career-best 68 in the second round.
• He currently leads the squad on the season with a 73.50 scoring average.
• Darien Zhao tied for 2nd at the OC Collegiate Classic, carding a 219 (+3) to secure his best collegiate finish.
• He fired a career-low 68 in the second round for his third sub-70 score of the 2021-22 campaign.
• Zhao was UC Irvine's top finisher in two of the team's three fall tournaments and owns a season average of 73.67.
• Senior Nathan Irwin had a top-20 showing at the season-opening Nick Watney Invitational (T19th).
• He also led the 'Eaters at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate and the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
• Irwin, who has three sub-70 rounds including a collegiate-best 68, ranks third on the squad with a 73.72 average.
• UCI carded its best 18-hole score of the year with a 277 in the second round of the Visit Stockton Invitational.
• In that round, Zhao, Irwin and Irei all registered a 2-under 69.
• Henry Fitzhugh has played in every tournament since his arrival at UC Irvine in 2020.
• Four of the seven returning 'Eaters are seniors - Irwin, Matt Gunson, Ethan Han and Trueman Park.
• The Anteaters also welcome two newcomers in redshirt freshman Johnny Bai and true freshman Jin Nakao.
• Back in November, UC Irvine signed Rei Harashima and Andy Zou to National Letters of Intent for 2022-23.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make its way to Chandler, Arizona, for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, April 4-5.