Friday, October 17, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Saint Martin’s Austin Spicer has been awarded the GNAC Golfer of the Week after leading his team at the Sonoma State Invitational.

The sophomore finished tied for 12th out of 73 golfers, shooting rounds of 78, 71 and 73. His 71 in the second round was tied for the lowest score in that round.

Spicer’s final mark of 222, which was six over par, was only three strokes behind a Top 5 finish. Spicer is the only SMU golfer this year to place in the top 15 in two of the teams three tournaments.

Sonoma State won the invitational with an 883 and the Seawolves' Eric Ash was the individual winner, finishing at two under par with a score of 214.

The Saints finished the invitational in eighth place with a three-round score of 911.

The first round was the Saints hardest, shooting a 308, which put them tied for tenth heading into the second round.

SMU improved its score each round however and bounced back, carding a 303 in the second led by Spicer’s 71.

The third round saw two SMU golfers shoot one-over par with Spicer and fellow sophomore Ryan Baumgart carding 73 to move the Saints into eighth place.

Baumgart turned in a 227 after shooting an opening round of 80, but hit 74 and 73 the next two rounds to finish tied for 23rd.

Kevin Cullen and Ben Fosnick each carded their best rounds in the opener. Cullen actually led the team shooting a 74 while Fosnick was second, turning in his 76, before the two struggled in the second round. Cullen tied for 36th while Fosnick finished tied for 46th.

Andrew Raab had one of the more consistent cards in the invitational, finishing with a 236 which totaled a three-round score consisting of 80, 78 and 78.

SMU will compete at the University of Victoria Shootout while fellow GNAC members Simon Fraser and Western Washington travel to California to compete in the Cal State Monterey Bay Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.