LAS CRUCES, N.M. ?
The New Mexico
State men’s golf team won
the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate for the second time in three years at the NMSU
Golf Course, Tuesday, Oct. 28.
The Aggies went into the final round tied for seventh, but fired a
10-under-par to take home the team trophy with a three-round total of 9-over-par
861 (296-291-274). The Aggies were down
10 strokes to Denver, who had the lead after two rounds, but head coach Scott
Lieberwirth had a feeling his team could make a come back on their home
course.
“As frustrating as it was yesterday this makes it that much more
rewarding,” Lieberwirth said. “It was
just the kind of performance today that we knew we had to play to win. We knew we had play some of our best golf
today, and we did that.”
Seniors Travis Reid and Kevin Lozares stepped up for NMSU carding a
5-under-par 66 and a 6-under-par 65 respectively. The 65 Lozares fired in round three was the
lowest of his collegiate career. Reid
finished the tournament with a 5-under-par 208 (72-70-66) to win the first
collegiate tournament of his career, while Lozares came in tied for
43rd.
“Kevin finished like a senior should and all our seniors played like
seniors,” Lieberwirth said. “Our seniors
knew they just had one shot at this and they came through. Everybody played consistently and you really
don’t see that kind of come back. The timing was excellent and the way we
competed and played was just fantastic.”
Sophomore sensation Tim Madigan lent a helping hand with the big come
back as he tied for 17th with a 3-over-par 216 (70-74-72) carding a
total of seven birdies in three rounds.
Freshman Gaston De La Torre also played well enough to help the Aggies to
pick up another week. He came in with a
5-over-par 218 (75-72-71) to tie for 29th.
Freshman Miko Alejandro finished the tournament tied for 68th
with a 15-over-par 228 (79-75-74).
Junior Joshua Stewart was the second-highest finisher for the Aggies as
he was playing as an individual. He
finished tied for ninth with an even-par for the three-round home
tournament. Sophomore Ross Prachar was
also playing as an individual and tied for 15th, his best finish of
his collegiate career. He came in with a
2-over-par 215 (75-67-73), while the 67 in round two was the lowest score of his
career.
Also, playing as an individual, sophomore Ryan Word also had the best
finish of his career after he came in tied for 29th with a 5-over-par
218 (75-73-70). He beat his previous
career-low round by three strokes as he carded a 70 in the final round of the
Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate.
Sophomores Max Machado and Devin Schreiner, along with senior Brent Hook
also played as individuals. Machado tied
for 49th with a 10-over-par 223 (74-76-73), Schreiner tied for
80th, scoring a 17-over-par 230 (78-76-76) and Hook tied for
98th with a 29-over-par 242 (81-83-78).