Mroz, Connell lead Men's Golf on final day in California

By SCOTT WARD
UNCBears.com

MEADOW VISTA, Calif. -- Freshmen Charlie Mroz and Steve Connell both posted solid individual rounds Sunday on the final day of the UC Davis/Nevada Winchester Classic at Winchester Golf Course.

Both first-year players saved their best rounds of the Classic for last, with Mroz shooting a 1-over-par 73 and Connell coming in with an even-par 72.

Those efforts, along with sophomore Ben Krueger's 4-over 76, led the Bears to their best team round of the tournament with an 11-over-par 299. That helped them make up some ground on the field but wasn't enough to pull them out of the last spot in the seven-team standings.

Northern Colorado (910, +46), which finished three strokes behind sixth-place Nevada (907) and eight away from fifth-place Pacific (902), will now turn its attention toward this year's America Sky Men's Golf Conference Championship.

That event will be played Sunday to Tuesday, April 29 to May 1, at Lake of Isles in Stonington, Conn.

"We've got a lot of work to do this week before then," Northern Colorado coach Chuck Scheinost said.

Fresno State fired a 289 in the final round and finished with 874 strokes on the weekend. That mark (10-over par) was way ahead of a three-way tie for second place between Idaho, UC Davis and Sacramento State, who all finished in 887 strokes (+23).

Krueger never posted a round this weekend better than yesterday's second 18-hole score of 75 (+3), but he was the most consistent of the Bears and finished with a team-best tie for 22nd.

Mroz came in 12-over (228) for the Classic and tied for 24th, while Connell, who struggled mightily yesterday -- he shot a 15-over 87 -- bounced back Sunday and finished 17-over, at 233, and tied for 32nd.

Junior Kevin Collignon added his second 6-over 78 of the Classic Sunday, sandwiched around a 77 from yesterday, and joined Connell in the tie for 32nd.

Steven Kupcho, who has led the Bears in a majority of their events this season, never really found a groove in Meadow Vista and tied for 35th after shooting 79 (+7) Sunday.

Idaho's Jarred Bossio shot 2-over 74 in the final round and finished even-par for the tournament (216). He entered the day all alone in second place but bested Fresno State's Nate Jessup and UC Davis' Matt Seramin by a stroke for the event-medalist honor.