Wyoming Cowboy Classic
Dates: April 1-2 (Monday-Tuesday)
Location: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club - Maricopa, Ariz.
Par/Yardage: Par-72, 7,546 yards

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team makes its way to Maricopa, Arizona, for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, April 1-2. The par-72 course at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club will be played at 7,546 yards. 

Thirty-six holes are scheduled for Monday, while the final round is slated for Tuesday. Both days will have a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. The Anteaters are part of a 23-team field highlighted by eight programs featured in the top-100 of the National Collegiate Golf Rankings - No. 48 Long Beach State, No. 51 UNLV, No. 61 Kansas, No. 70 Grand Canyon, No. 71 Cal State Fullerton, No. 74 Saint Mary's, No. 95 Kennesaw State and No. 99 Iowa State. Also in the tournament are Air Force, CSUN, Hawai'i, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, UC Davis, USC, Utah State, Utah Valley, UT Arlington, UTEP, Weber State, Wichita State and host Wyoming.

UCI's lineup includes Darien Zhao, Jason Tang, Jin Nakao, Rei Harashima and Joshua Lane.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine tied for 13th at the fourth annual UC San Diego Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course, March 24-26. Darien Zhao was the Anteaters top finisher in a tie for 30th with a 54-hole score of 221 (77-69-75). Jin Nakao and Rei Harashima tied for 58th at 224, while Jason Tang was 62nd with a 225. Yaoting Zou withdrew due to injury.

BACK TO WORK
Four Anteaters enter the Wyoming Cowboy Classic with sub-73 season averages. Senior Darien Zhao leads the way at 71.86, while sophomore Yaoting Zou is second at 72.39. Freshman Jason Tang isn't far behind with a 72.43 average and sophomore Jin Nakao sits at 72.93. Sophomore Rei Harashima is also just above the benchmark at 73.95. Zhao, Nakao, Tang, Zou and Harashima all have at least one round in the 60s and have combined for 17 sub-70 scores.

BREAKING RECORDS
Darien Zhao, UCI's only senior, kicked off the 2023-24 season with a bang as he claimed runner-up honors with a career-best 13-under 200 at the Nick Watney Invitational in September. Zhao opened the tournament with back-to-back sub-70 rounds, carding a 66 (-5) prior to firing a school-record 62 (-9). He finished the first two rounds with 14 birdies and one eagle against only two bogeys for a program-best 36-hole score of 128 (-14). Zhao, a two-time All-Big West selection, has eight career top-10 finishes. 

WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Freshman Jason Tang made a statement in his collegiate debut, tying for sixth at the season-opening Nick Watney Invitational. Tang concluded his first tournament as an Anteater at 10-under 203 (74-65-64). He found his stride with a bogey-free second round to jump 40 spots in the standings, and carried the momentum into the final round where he continued his ascent up the leaderboard with a 64 (-7).

GOING LOW
As a team, the Anteaters recorded the program's second-best score to par at 38-under at the Kapolei Invitational, Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Darien Zhao and Jason Tang led the way at 10-under. Three 'Eaters combined for five sub-70 scores.

UP NEXT
UCI heads to the Western Intercollegiate, April 15-17, for its final tune-up before the Big West Championships.