By Elliot Boswell
University of Portland golfer Jake Easterly tied for sixth overall at the Cal Poly Intercollegiate last Saturday, shooting a two-under par 70 in the final round at the Cypress Ridge Golf Course.
Helped by Easterly and a 21st place finish from fellow senior Kevin Beavers, the team tied for 11th place out of 18 at the par-72 course in Arroyo Grande, Calif. that hosted the three-round tournament.
The golf team came into the Cal Poly tournament with high expectations after a fourth-place finish at the Braveheart Classic in early March, according to Easterly, a tournament in which he tied for sixth as an individual.
Easterly shot 79-74-75 over three rounds on the par-72 course to finish eight strokes behind the leader, Matt Kleinrock of Jacksonville.
"After the Riverside tournament a couple weeks ago, I felt we had some very good momentum behind us for the Cal Poly tournament," Easterly said. "I also felt confident in my own game after t-20 and t-6 finishes in my previous two tournaments."
In near-perfect playing conditions in Arroyo Grande, Beavers jumped out early, pacing the team with two consecutive par rounds to tie for eighth overall with a 144 but shot a final round 79 and finished tied for 21st.
Easterly struggled on the first day, shooting a five-over par 77 but came storming back on Friday with a blistering three-under 69.
"After the first round I was very disappointed but I was able to put it behind me and keep playing, and managed a pretty good second round," Easterly said. "When I shot myself in the foot in the first round, I got mad and started trying to make birdies. I took this mindset into the last round and it worked pretty well."
Easterly followed up his second-round 69 with scorching two-under 70 in the third round for a three-day total of 216 to tie with Aaron Hobbs of CSU-Northridge, Chris Kirk and Brycen Wagner, both of Cal Poly.
Easterly's score was seven strokes off the lead. Rounding out the University scores were Beavers with a 223, freshman Terence Macatangay with 228 to tie for 48th place, freshman Thomas Robertson with a 237 to tie for 82nd, and junior Joel Johnson with a 248.
"Jake played great for two rounds, but had a tough first round 77," Head Coach William Winter said. "He mounted a super comeback in the last two rounds, leading the tournament in birdies with 14. I wish I had five Jake Easterly's."
Cal Poly took advantage of playing on their home turf to take home the team trophy, shooting a combined 866 for a 13-stroke victory over second-place Loyola-Marymount. Rounding out the top five in California style were CSU-Bakersfield with 883, CSU-Northridge with 884, and Cal Poly's B squad with 886. Portland shot a 904 to tie for 11th place with Idaho State, just two strokes behind Gonzaga and Idaho, who tied for eighth place.
Because of the ideal conditions, both Easterly and Winter expressed disappointment at the Pilots' finish, noting that with the weather so perfect, they were surprised that the overall scoring was as low as it was.
"My expectation for all tournaments is a top-five finish," Winter said.
Individual leaders for the tournament were Brian Locke of LMU with 209, Greg Doherty of De Paul with a 212, Chris Kwon of CSU-Bakersfield, Geoff Gonzalez of Cal Poly with a 214 and Luis Kim of CSU-Northridge with a 215. Doherty was the only top-five finisher to hail from a school outside of California.
With the regular season now over, Portland is to begin preparing for the West Coast Conference Golf Championships in Lompoc, Calif. Easterly expressed excitement at the prospect of the upcoming post-season play.
"I am feeling very excited about our team's potential. The opportunity for postseason play is there if we can win," Easterly said. "We just have to go out there and play to our ability, and good things will happen."
The WCC men's golf tournament is scheduled for April 16-17 at La Purisima Golf Course.
