On Wednesday May 9, the CSU East Bay men’s golf team finished 10th place in the university’s first NCAA postseason appearance at the Central/West Regional.

The team needed to place top five in order to advance to the NCAA Championships.

The Regional Championships located at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Par, Arizona, featured 28 teams and over 100 players from around the country. CSUEB finished with two of their players in the top 50.

Blake Ahlin ended the three-day tournament with an impressive six over 222. On Monday, May 7, he got the team’s lowest scoring round with a four under par, the only under par during the three rounds for the men’s golf team.

Ahlin, junior, finished 24th overall in the tournament. His low scoring round on Monday consisted of an eagle on the first hole and six birdies throughout the next 17.

The best round of the final day belonged to another junior, A.J. Maxedon, with a two over par, his best round of the tournament. On the front nine holes, Maxedon birdied four times, and sunk another birdie putt in the back nine to give him his best round of the series.

“Regionals was an amazing experience,” said senior Jeff Cornez. “It’s not very often you get to play in a tournament with the top 20 golf teams from the west and central parts of the U.S. To be part of a tournament with that many great golfers was a true test of our team’s abilities.”

Cornez tied Ahlin on Wednesday with a score of 76, four over par. He had three birdies the final day and finished the tournament tied for 46th place with +11, a total of 227.

“Although I wasn’t pleased with the way I played, to finish in the top 50 can be looked at as a successful season,” said Cornez. “I can use a lot of the things I did well in the tournament to build more confidence moving forward.

“Playing for CSUEB has been a great experience and very beneficial,” continued Cornez. “I was constantly competing with some of the best college golfers in the country. To be able to compare my game to theirs and work hard to try and beat them can only help me progress towards my goal of professional golf.”

Cornez said he plans on playing tournaments after he graduates this spring and will test his skills in “either Asia, Australia, Phoenix or North Carolina” with teammate Chris Herzog, who head coach Alan Sue said was the team’s best player.

“Making it to regionals validated everything that our coaching staff has done to compete in the strongest region in Division II,” said Sue. “I am very proud of our team’s overall performance. I know that we could have played better at the Regional Championship but we gave everything we had and came up short.”

Sue claimed that the team’s main struggle was with consistency. He gave examples of tournaments where one day they were the best team playing, and the next were considered one of the worst.

The team’s strength, according to Coach Sue, was their “decisions on shot selection” and placement of the ball.

Sue said he wants the students to continue playing in tournaments during the summer to keep their skills intact.

“The Northern California Golf Association has a very busy tournament schedule in the summer,” said Sue. “It is a good chance for our players to get more tournament experience and also compete with aspiring professionals and other current collegiate players including Division I players.”

Although they are losing three players to “graduation and exhausted eligibility,” the head coach seemed confident in the future of his team because “the core group remains.”

“In addition,” continued Sue, “I have signed four players, one transfer and three freshmen. Our team will be ready once again to compete for a post season selection and a spot into the National Championship.”

Cal State Stanislaus made a magnificent comeback to win the tournament in the last round, placing Chico State in second. Stanislaus and Chico will join Colorado School of Mines, Western Washington and Grand Canyon in the NCAA Division II Finals.