The Cal Poly men’s golf team will try to build on its fifth-place finish at last week’s Merrill Lynch Invitational when the Big West Conference Championship kicks off in Mission Viejo on April 24-25.
The tournament will mark the last of the season for the Mustangs, who have finished in the top 10 seven times this season, including second-place finishes at the Drake Invitational and the Braveheart Classic.
In 2005, the Mustangs finished two strokes behind tournament champion UC Riverside and finished in second place.
Cal Poly senior Travis Bertoni, the team’s top player, looks to add to the three first-place finishes he has compiled this year. He also looks to defend last year’s first-place finish at the Big West Championship. Bertoni’s latest championship was at the Cuesta Title/Cal Poly Invitational on March 24. Bertoni comes off an 11th-place finish at the Merrill Lynch Invitational. His round average for the season is a team best 72.1.
Colin Peck is another Mustang who might make some noise in the tournament. Peck finished in the top 20 four times this season, including a season best fifth-place finish at the Braveheart Classic. Beck has a round average of 74.5.
Cal Poly will have stiff competition from defending champion UC Riverside along with 2004 tournament champion Long Beach State. Rival UC Irvine has had five first-place finishes this year.
In this week’s Golfweek team rankings, UC Irvine is No. 65, Long Beach State No. 83 and Cal Poly No. 94.
The women’s Big West Conference Championship will also take place on April 24-25 in Mission Viejo. The Mustangs enter the tournament with a lot of momentum following their fourth-place finish at the CSU Northridge Spring Invitational last week. Cal Poly finished fourth at the 2005 Big West Championship last year.
The Mustangs are led by freshman Allison Wing, who was named to second-team all-conference this year. Wing posted a team high 79.6 average this year. Fellow Stangs Jessica Huss, Hannah Brabb, Jilayne Lovejoy and Kelly McEachern look to make some noise as well.
UC Irvine won last year’s championship by 20 strokes. This year’s team is led by sophomore Selanee Henderson.
Long Beach State posted seven top-10 finishes in eight tournaments this year. Sophomore Kay Hoey, the 2005 Big West Player of the Year, looks to win her first Big West championship.