CORVALLIS, Ore. - UC Irvine men's golf won its season-opening tournament, taking home the team title at the Oregon State Invitational Tuesday at Trysting Tree Golf Club.

"I'm very proud of the team effort this week," head coach Paul Smolinski said. "We still have room for improvement, but everyone contributed to the team's success."
 
The Anteaters entered the day in a tie for second before carding a 285 in the final round to erase a five-stroke deficit. They overtook host Oregon State, finishing first at 4-under 848 (288-275-285). The Beavers dropped to second at 2-under 850 (283-275-292).
 
This is UCI's first stroke play tournament victory since winning the Big West Championship in 2018. The 'Eaters also won the Cal Poly Match Play Tournament in 2019.
 
JJ Nakao led UC Irvine with a career-best fourth-place showing. He came in at even-par in the final round to finish with a 54-hole score of 2-under 211 (70-70-71). Nakao totaled 11 birdies and one eagle over the course of the tournament.
 
Jason Tang tied for 12th at even-par 213 (71-70-72), while Jack Yu (75-68-72) and Rei Harashima (74-67-74) tied for 17th with a 2-over 215.
 
Owen Davis-Piger had UCI's best round of the day, firing a 1-under 70 with four birdies. He climbed 17 spots in the standings to tie for 22nd at 216 (73-73-70).
 
Washington State's Sam Renner was the individual champion with a three-round total of 203 (-10).
 
The Anteaters will be back in action next week, traveling to the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, Oct. 14-16.