@UNC_MensGolf Cashes in Second Place Finish at Pat Hicks Invite

Monday, February 8

St. George, UT

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Thunderbird Invitational

2/9/2016 4:15:00 PM | Men's Golf

The Bears shot the lowest round of any team at the meet on Tuesday with a 284 to earn the second place finish.

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

FINAL RESULTS

ST. GEORGE, Utah – Northern Colorado men's golf improved by 11 strokes on Tuesday, shooting the best round of the day of any team with a 284 (-4) and earning a second place finish in the 2016 Pizza Hut Pat Hicks Invite.

The Bears climbed three spots in the rankings in the final round after sitting fifth with a team score of 295, ending the meet with a 579 (+3), missing out on first place by just seven strokes. They tied for second place with Dixie State and Utah

Senior Steven Kupcho blew through the Sunbrook Golf Course in the finale, carding a season-low and team best, 68 (-4) to earn a fourth place finish. Kupho posted a 140 (-4) in the 36-hole meet.

He also led the team in birdies with nine.

Kupcho wasn't the only player to finish in the Top 10, freshman Josh Matz tied for ninth place after carding a final round of 73 (+1). Matz threw together a 69 (-3) on Monday and ends with a 142 (-2) overall.

"It was fun to see the guys fight hard and put a nice team under par round on the scoreboard," head coach Roger Prenzlow said. "Steven [Kupcho] played a nice round, Conner [Barr] got it going late – Li [Chen] and Josh [Matz] hung in there all day. As a team, we had the best finish of any Big Sky school and it is always nice to shoot just as well as a Pac 12 school like Utah."

Senior Conner Barr jumped 22 spots to claim 18th place after scoring a 70 (-2). Barr improved seven strokes from his first round of 77 (+5).

Barr walked away from the first spring meet of the season with a 147 (+3).

Freshman Eric Chen also shaved strokes off his first 18-hole score of 77 (+5). Chen was just one stroke away from even par on the day, with a 73 (+1). Chen leaves Utah with an overall score of 150 (+6), finishing in a tie for 36th.

Chen recorded a team-best 27 pars in his 36 holes of play.

Rounding out the team was sophomore Sam Marley. Marley, much like his teammates did, dialed in and played better golf. Marley knocked five strokes off his Monday score of 81 (+9), finishing with a 76 (+4) and coming in 58th on the leaderboard.

Utah Valley won the team portion of the tournament, scoring a 572 (-4) overall. The Wolverines' J.T. Simmons earned the individual title, carding -10 under after back-to-back rounds of 67.

Next up for Men's Golf is a trip to Hawai'i on Feb. 17-19 competing in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.

"Now it's off to Hawai'i where we need to progress and see where we stand in an elite field," Prenzlow added. "It will be tough, but it will give us a chance to grow as a team."