The Long Beach State men’s golf team finished with a second-place showing at the Braveheart Classic on Tuesday at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif.
The 49ers’ combined stroke total was 14-over par, placing them 20 shots behind tournament winner Arizona.
The field consisted of Big West Conference teams, including host UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara.
After a rough first round, the 49ers posted two impressive rounds to move their way up the leaderboard to secure a second-place finish.
“I thought this tournament was a very successful event for us even though we got off to a slow start in the first round,” Beach assistant coach Zach Vinal said. “We had a well-thought out game plan for Oak Valley because it really is a thinking man’s course. It really pressures you to put the ball in the fairway and be conscious of where you leave it on your approach shots.”
The leading individual finisher for the 49ers was Brandon Lein, who finished in a tie for ninth place with a three-round score of two-over par. Robbie Berton tied for 11th with a tournament score of three-over par.
Kevin Roy closed the tournament in 21st after recovering from an eight-over first round with two even par rounds. Michael Drake and Raymond Ho both tied for 22nd after shooting nine-over par overall.
Tarquin Macmanus of Arizona won the individual title after shooting a six-under final round to go with two rounds of even-par.
“We are definitely getting better and we are going into Pauma Valley looking for a win,” Vinal said. “We lost to a very good (Arizona) team, but we beat some good teams as well this week. This gives us a lot of confidence going into Pauma Valley and we have high hopes for a win.”
The 49ers will try to let their momentum carry them to a victory at the Triumph at Pauma Valley, a tournament hosted by the University of San Francisco from March 15-16.
Women conclude play today
The LBSU women finished the second round of the Bruin Wave Invitational at Robinson Ranch on Tuesday.
The 49ers are tied for 13th overall at 44-over par after posting a 24-over 312 second round score. UCLA leads the tournament with a two-round score of even-par.
“We are looking to take advantage of our scoring opportunities,” 49er head coach Joey Cerulle said. “We have missed countless putts, but we know they will fall.”
Individually, the 49ers are led by freshman Simone Hoey, who sits in a tie for 30th at six-over par for the tournament after firing a two-over par second round. Monica Villareal came into the day at even par before carding an eight-over second round to tie for 44th place.
Noelle Zavaleta is tied for 69th at 14-over par, while Brenda Chhuor is tied for 74th at 16-over par. Reina Rogers heads into the final round tied for 79th at 19-over par.
“We had a pretty good start to the round today, but our round was like the weather today, nice at first, but cold and grey at the end,” Cerulle said.
Stephanie Kono of UCLA is the tournament’s overall leader at six-under after posting rounds of 70 and 68 for a combined score of 138. Danielle Kang from Pepperdine trails by only one stroke.
Cerulle said, “We look forward to having one more chance to prove to the field that we belong with the best of the best.”