College Roundup: UC Irvine wins Big West men’s golf title

MEN’S GOLF

Big West Conference Championship

SAN LUIS OBISPO — UC Irvine earned the title Tuesday at the San Luis Obispo Country Club.

Coach Paul Smolinski’s Anteaters tied for the low round of the day at 285 to finish with a 54-hole total of 860, holding off UC Davis by one shot (861) with UC Riverside finishing third at 871.

UCI, which rallied from two shots down entering the final round, won its first conference title since 2010 and the seventh in program history.

All five Anteater players finished in the top 20, led by senior Pete Fernandez, who placed second at 213 after a final round of 72.

Junior Jacob Schulze shot a two-under 68 Tuesday to finish third with a three-round score of 214.

Sophomore Bryan Shin, with a 72 in the final round, placed 12th at 219, freshman David Kim (75) was 15th at 220 and freshman Jonathan Young (73) finished 20th at 222.

Justin De Los Santos of Cal Poly was medalist at 212 after a 69 on Tuesday.

“It was super-exciting coming down the stretch and every shot meant a great deal,” Smolinski said. “All the guys were sitting around the 18th green as Pete [Fernandez] had to two-putt from 40 feet and downhill to save par and preserve the win. He hit a great lag putt to about 2 1/2 feet and made a tough putt from there for par.

“All of our guys contributed at some point and Jake’s round was huge,” Smolinski added.

With the win, the ‘Eaters earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals, which will be played at six sites across the nation May 14-16. UCI will learn its destination during the NCAA selection show that will be carried live on the Golf Channel Monday at 7 a.m. (PT).

The NCAA Championship is at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., May 29-June 3.

—

BASEBALL

UC Irvine 9, San Diego 4

SAN DIEGO — The Anteaters scored six runs in the middle innings to pull away from a 3-3 tie Tuesday at Fowler Park. The win lifted the ‘Eaters to 25-16 while USD drops to 25-18 on the year.

Keston Hiura, Mitchell Holland and Jerry McClanahan combined to drive in eight of the team’s nine runs. McClanahan, who was two for three, worked two walks to post his 108th and 109th base on balls and move into the No. 2 spot in the UCI career records, passing Jeff Malinoff’s (1971-74) total of 109. The trio registered two hits apiece with Hiura driving in three runs and Holland posting a pair of RBI. Parker Coss was perfect at the plate, batting three for three with a walk and a sacrifice.

—

Cal State Fullerton 7, UC Irvine 5

FULLERTON – Junior first baseman Mitchell Holland went three for four with a double and a home run to pace the visiting Anteaters in the finale of the three-game Big West Conference series on Sunday.

The Anteaters (24-16, 11-4 in conference) led, 1-0, 4-1 and 5-4, before the Titans (22-20, 8-4) scored three in the fifth to finalize the scoring.

Senior Evan Manarino allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss and fall to 4-2.

Connor Seabold, a freshman out of Newport Harbor High, pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his first collegiate save. Seabold allowed one hit and struck out four.

UCI maintains a 1 1/2-game lead atop the Big West standings, ahead of the Titans and UC Santa Barbara.

—

WOMEN’S WATER POLO

Hawaii 9, UC Irvine 8

HONOLULU – Host Hawaii scored the game-winner with 10 seconds left in the second overtime to claim the Big West Conference Tournament title on Sunday.

Mary Brooks, Danielle Warde and Emily Carlson had two goals apiece for the No. 5-ranked Anteaters (19-8).

Hawaii (18-8), earned the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championships, for which UCI earned an at-large berth.