The CSU East Bay men’s golf team finished in sixth place at the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships in Paso Robles on Tuesday.

The two-day tournament, which began on April 23, saw the Pioneers post their best finish in East Bay history since joining the CCAA in 2009-10.

Eight teams took the course at the championships with Chico State earning the first place spot followed by CSU Stanislaus taking second, UC San Diego taking third, CSU Monterey Bay taking fourth, and CSU San Bernardino finishing just ahead of CSUEB at fifth.

Finishing behind the Pioneers was Sonoma State at seventh place and CSU Dominguez Hills in eighth.

The Pioneers finished just two strokes back of fifth place and four strokes out of fourth place finishing with a team total of 872 (+8) over 54 holes.

Winding down on his seventh year at the helm for CSUEB, head coach Alan Sue commented on the Pioneers best finish in program history.

“I think it’s a step forward but in no way am I satisfied until we win the CCAA Championship,” said Sue. “The team had its best performance all year.  Unfortunately, so did some of the other teams but I am very pleased with our performance.”

Senior Jeff Cornez and junior Chris Herzog guided East Bay to their sixth place finish, both tying for an individual eighth place finish among 40 golfers.

Cornez led East Bay in the final round of the championships carding four-under 68 to finish with one-under 215. Herzog golfed a 71 (-1) in the final round, securing his team best eighth place finish, marking the sixth time this season that Herzog has led the team.

“As far as where East Bay golf has been in the past, this was a turning year,” commented Herzog. “I wish we could’ve done a little better [in the championships] but we’re going to build on the success we had this season and hopefully just keep it going. We have a lot of talent coming in which should make for a successful season next year as well.”

Herzog encountered injury early on in the season, sustaining an abdominal strain which led to a back strain. Despite having to battle with the injury in the fall season, Herzog entered the spring season recuperated and found multiple successes all season long.

“Chris Herzog was our best and most consistent performer of the year.  He had another top 10 finish in the Conference Championship as I expected he would,” said Sue.

“Also Captain, Jeff Cornez, had a very strong spring season and Conference Championship performance as well.  Both displayed the positive leadership that successful teams must have.”
Herzog will attempt to qualify for the United States Golf Association (USGA) Championships held over the summer.

Herzog along with teammate Cornez will also attempt to qualify for the California State Amateur Championships also set to be held over the summer. The qualifiers will take place on April 30.

“My hopes in participating in these championships [along with others] is to get myself ready for next season,” said Herzog.

Among the highlights of the season, according to Sue, was the Pioneer Shootout where East Bay placed first out of 12 teams and had the home field advantage, along with a fifth place finish at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational out of 20 teams.

Herzog’s individual championship in the Pioneer Shootout led to him earning a CCAA Player of the Week award.

The season may be continuing for the men’s golf team as they could get an at-large bid into the Regional Championships, which will take place on May 6 to 9 at the Wigwam Resort Gold Course in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Entering the CCAA Championships, the Pioneers were ranked 7 in the NCAA Division II West Regional Rankings, which were released on April 20.

Ten total selections will be made to participate in the championships and those selections will be made at the end of this week.