MORENO VALLEY>> All season long, California Baptist University has improved from one round to the next in tournaments. The Lancers will look to play to their strengths and finish strong in their final tournament of the season.
In round one of the NCAA Division II Championships, CBU shot 12-over-par 292 at the Reunion Resort. It put the West/South Central champion Lancers in 13th place and just five shots off the top-eight finish they need to advance to Thursday’s match play after three rounds.
“In just about every tournament this year, we’ve gotten better after each round,” Coach TL Brown said. “I love that this team has a lot of confidence, looking forward to getting out there early with these guys.”
Not far removed from winning the individual regional title, Trevor Lampson has his eye on more hardware after shooting three-under-par 67 for CBU on Monday. The redshirt freshman finds himself in a five-way tie for third place individually, while Florida Southern’s John Coultas is in first with a 65 and Le Moyne’s John Clare stands in second at 66.
Overall, third-ranked Barry leads the 20-team field with a 274, while No. 1 West Florida (276) and sixth-ranked Florida Tech (277) are within striking distance at second and third, respectively. Fourth-ranked Florida Southern (280, fourth); seventh-ranked Newbery College (282, fifth); Le Moyne College (282, sixth); No. 31 Ferris State (286, seventh); North Alabama and St. Thomas Aquinas (287, eighth) round out the top eight.
Lampson started out on fire for the Lancers, with a birdie on his first hole. After a bogey at four, he birdied on five and sank an eagle on the par-four sixth hole to eventually finish three under on the front nine. The Arizona native closed out his round in strong fashion, as well, with birdies at 15 and 16 making him two-under on his final four holes.
Christian Sanders is in 35th after shooting a two-over-par 72 for CBU. The senior closed out the first round strong, playing his last six holes one-under-par after picking up both of his birdies on holes 13 and 17. It would have been an even better day for the Lancers, if not for three uncharacteristic high scores, including two triple bogeys and a quintuple bogey. Even so, Kendel Hodges, Greg Gonzalez and Tai Kuida overcame tough holes to avoid disaster.
Hodges, a true freshman, shot 76 with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from five to eight highlighting his round. Gonzalez rebounded from a tough front nine to play the back nine one-under with a birdie at 16 helping give him a 77 on the day. Kuida matched Gonzalez with a 77 after playing the front nine just one over, with a birdie on the first hole.