September 30, 2008
Cameron men fight for 10th place
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (September 30) – It was a tough week for the nationally-ranked #21 Cameron Aggie men’s golf team as they took 10th place in the thirteen-team Bruce Williams Memorial Invitational tournament. The event was played at the Dominion Golf Course in San Antonio, Texas, and was hosted by St. Mary’s University. Cameron’s total three-round score was 902 (299-302-301).
“With the exception of Peter (Svajlen), who played very well, we played pitiful,” Head Coach Jerry Hrnciar said. “Some of our other guys had a couple of good rounds, but we did not play well and there is no other way of putting it. All we have to do is see who finished ahead of us and that lets us know how we did.”
CU placed behind three fellow Lone Star Conference schools, but finished ahead of one. The University of Texas won the event with a total team score of 875 (292-290-293) and Nick May of Newman University won the individual title with a 210 (69-72-69).
“We played poorly for a lot of reasons,” Coach Hrnciar said. “We didn’t handle the greens, we didn’t adjust to the Bermuda grass greens, and we made a lot of negatives or what I call ‘wasted shots’. Now we have to try and forget about them.”
Senior Peter Svajlen had a solid round and finished in a tie for 5th place overall. His three-round score was 215 (71-74-70). Svajlen finished the tournament with the best par three scoring average (2.83, -2) and the second-most pars (38).
Juniors Brett Leavell and Robbe Trout tied for 22nd and 31st place, respectively. Leavell shot a 223 (72-75-76) while Trout turned in a 226 (72-76-78). Leavell also finished with the third-most pars (37) and Trout also recorded the third-best par five scoring average (4.67, -4).
Rounding out Cameron’s five golfers was junior Michael Lee and freshman Garrett Smith. Lee finished in a tie for 62nd place with a 239 (84-78-77). Smith recorded a 244 (88-77-79) and came in 65th place.
The Aggie men’s golf team’s next action comes in two weeks (October 12-14) when they host the annual Territory Classic at The Territory Golf Course in Duncan, Oklahoma. The event is open to the public. Cameron finished in 7th place in the tournament last year, but won 1st place the season before.
“This week’s tournament puts us behind the eight ball. We will need to play exceptionally well in the next two tournaments,” Coach Hrnciar said. “If we don’t then we might have to change our spring schedule up a bit so that we can see some of the teams we saw today again.”
Svajlen will miss the next two tournaments because he will be in Adelaide, Australia, competing for his home country of Slovakia in the 2008 World Amateur Team Men’s Golf Championships. The tournament is scheduled for October 8-11. Aggie fans can get updates on Svajlen’s status by visiting the Cameron Athletics website at goaggies.cameron.edu.