FAIRFIELD, Calif. - The Seattle University men's golf team made a statement at its first West Coast Conference Championship, which took place this weekend. In a tournament where after three rounds, the top four teams move on to an elimination semifinal, the Redhawks barely missed out, coming in fifth place out of 12 teams with a team score of -4 under.
This showing could not have happened without freshman Jacob Kang, who had a career outing in his first collegiate postseason tournament. Kang continued building momentum in his budding career, with his third place individual finish a new career best and only his second ever top-10 finish in collegiate competition.
Kang's performance is made all the more impressive by the fact that he finished above multiple top-50 ranked golfer's, including the NCAA's seventh ranked golfer, Pepperdine's Mahanth Chirravuri. Shooting -6 under, 210, Kang eclipsed his previous career low round of -2 under, 69 with a score of -4 under, 67 in the second round, complete with six birdies. Across all three rounds of play, Kang racked up 14 birdies, as well as an eagle in the third round.
Kevin Li rounded out an incredibly strong season with Seattle U with another top-10 finish, his fourth of the season, carding -4 under, 212 with 14 birdies and an eagle. Li made quite a comeback in the third round, coming into the day tied for 16th with an overall score of -1. The junior proceeded to shoot -3 under, 68 in the third round with six birdies and an eagle, and shot up to eighth place by the conclusion of the round.
Walker Lamb and Ben Ragland had similar tournaments, both shooting +3 over, 219 and tying for 30th place. Lamb came away with 10 birdies, while Ragland racked up eight birdies and an eagle.
Conrad Chisman placed 50th with +8 over, 224.
"I am so proud of this team," said head coach Marc Chandonnet, "I am especially excited to see Jacob play such incredible golf as a freshman. As a group, we can look back on our year and confidently say we gave it our best. This group of guys cares about each other, they compete every day and always battle until the end.
"I'd be remiss if I didn’t mention the unselfish behavior of our number three seed Will Koch," Chandonnet added. "With an unfortunate ankle sprain and inability to compete at the last minute, he voluntarily withdrew for the good of the group and that's a decision he could have made differently. We leave this week feeling very positive about our performance."
It was a positive end to Seattle U's first season as members of the WCC, full of strong individual performances across many players, including Kang this weekend, Lamb's seven top 20 performances, and Li finishing in the top five competitors three seperate times, including an individual win at The Watney.
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