April 21, 2008

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. - Freshman Tyler Weir shot an even-par 144, and sophomore Brian Hollenbeck carded a 2-over par 146, and the UC Santa Barbara golf team is in fifth-place after the first two rounds of the Big West Golf Championship at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

Weir will enter Tuesday's final 18 holes in a tie for seventh-place in the tournament, while Hollenbeck is tied for 12th.

As a team, UCSB recorded a 16-over par 592, good for fifth-place, three shots back of Cal State Northridge, which is in fourth-place, four shots behind third-place Pacific, and three shots ahead of the fifth-place team, UC Riverside.

UC Irvine and UC Davis are tied for the tournament lead. The Anteaters and Aggies each scored a 5-under par 571 through the first two rounds, 17 shots in front of third-place Pacific. Irvine's Sean Shahi and John Chin are one-two in the individual competition. Shahi tallied a 6-under par 138, while Chin carded a 5-under par 139.

Rounding out the Gaucho finishers, junior Tony Verna logged a 6-over par 150 and is tied for 20th, while freshman Michael Casca is tied for 28th at 10-over par, and sophomore Matt Grush is tied for 32nd at 12-over par.