Sunday, October 15
Alpharetta, Ga.
All Day
USC
at
GC of Georgia Intercollegiate
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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/ Men's Golf
Photo by: Tomoki Chien
USC Men's Golf Places Seventh at Golf Club of Georgia Intercollegiate
October 15, 2023 | Men's Golf
ALPHARETTA, Ga.-- The USC men's golf team finished its third tournament of the season, competing in the final round of the Golf Club of Georgia Intercollegiate on Sunday (Oct.15) at the Lakeside Course at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga. The team finished in seventh place, recording an 8-under total on the day to push them to 4-under on the tournament. Virginia took home the team title by a margin of 6-shots over tournament host Georgia Tech.
Gavin Aurilia found his stride today, leading the Trojans in scoring and propelling himself up the leaderboard. After two early birdies on his first nine, Aurilia had an almost perfect second nine, recording four birdies and no bogeys. His six birdies led the Trojans as he finished the day in a career-low of 5-under (67), pushing him to 2-over on the tournament and into a tie for 38th.
Talking about the importance of finishing tournaments strong, Aurilia said,"Getting wins is important in big tournaments like this, so I was really determined to go out there and try to prove something to myself and to the team that we can come from behind."
Sophomore Antonio Safa bounced back to finish the competition tied for 38th with Aurilia. Safa started off with a steady first nine of 1-under. Two early birdies on his second nine pushed him to 3-under where he stayed and finished the day at 69. He continues his steady string of tournament finishes at 2-over for the weekend.
After a strong showing yesterday, Krando Nishiba made three birdies, posting 1-over on his first nine and 1-under on his second nine, staying even on the round (72). After his 2-under round yesterday, Nishiba finished the tournament in a team-best tie for 22nd. He was 2-under in total for the weekend.
When asked about what felt strongest about his game this weekend, Nishiba commented, "I think my ball striking was good as always, it has always been one of my strengths. Also, my short game, just making pars even when I hit bad shots, allowed me to stay in the rounds most of the days."
Sam Lape, who played a very similar round to Nishiba today, also finished his day in even par (72). After he mirrored his first day yesterday with a 3-over (75), today's finish put him into a tie for 30th at even.
Jackson Rivera, in his second tournament start of the fall, couldn't quite recover from an unlucky start and finished his day in 4-over (76). Rivera's day slotted him in at 7-over for the tournament in 61st place.
Coach Hankins commented on his team's performance this weekend, saying, "We really buckled down today and went out and put together a solid final round that moved us up the leaderboard. It was cool and a little breezy and the early morning scores reflected that.
I was proud of our team. We just put our heads down and worked at scoring today. Gavin really pulled us up with a phenomenal -5, 67. Antonio bounced back with a 69 and Krando finished off a great tournament with a rock solid, even par, 72."
This weekend was a good test for the USC men's golf team. After a tough second day, the team showed resilience and growth to be able to bounce back and put together an impressive finish. A strong final round for the Trojans gives them momentum heading into their fourth and final contest of the fall at the Preserve Golf Club for the Cal Poly Collegiate in two weeks.
THE GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA INTERCOLLEGIATE
THE LAKESIDE COURSE AT THE GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA
ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA
OCT. 13-15, 2023/PAR 72/7,092 YARDS
TEAMS (15)/FINAL ROUND SCORES:
Virginia - 278+292+269=839/-25
Georgia Tech - 283+283+279=845/-19
East Tennessee St. - 275+284+289=848/-16
Washington - 284+281+284=849/-15
Duke - 285+287+280=852/-12
Charlotte - 287+287+284=858/-6
USC - 286+294+280=860/-4
Texas A&M - 282+291+288=861/-3
Tennessee - 282+293+287=862/-2
Pepperdine - 288+290+285=863/-1
UCLA - 288+293+283=864/E
Clemson - 288+299+278=865/+1
Northwestern - 286+294+283=867/+3
Wake Forest - 281+302+294=877/+13
Georgia Tech (B) - 294+299+285=878/+14
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T1. Algot Kleen, East Tennessee St. - 67+68+70=205/-11
T1. Omar Morales, UCLA - 68+68+69=205/-11
T22. Krando Nishiba, USC - 72+70+72= 214/-2
T30. Sam Lape, USC - 69+75+72=216/E
T38. Gavin Aurilia, USC - 75+76+67=218/+2
T38. Antonio Safa, USC - 71+78+69=218/+2
61. Jackson Rivera, USC - 74+73+76=224/+7
Gavin Aurilia found his stride today, leading the Trojans in scoring and propelling himself up the leaderboard. After two early birdies on his first nine, Aurilia had an almost perfect second nine, recording four birdies and no bogeys. His six birdies led the Trojans as he finished the day in a career-low of 5-under (67), pushing him to 2-over on the tournament and into a tie for 38th.
Talking about the importance of finishing tournaments strong, Aurilia said,"Getting wins is important in big tournaments like this, so I was really determined to go out there and try to prove something to myself and to the team that we can come from behind."
Sophomore Antonio Safa bounced back to finish the competition tied for 38th with Aurilia. Safa started off with a steady first nine of 1-under. Two early birdies on his second nine pushed him to 3-under where he stayed and finished the day at 69. He continues his steady string of tournament finishes at 2-over for the weekend.
After a strong showing yesterday, Krando Nishiba made three birdies, posting 1-over on his first nine and 1-under on his second nine, staying even on the round (72). After his 2-under round yesterday, Nishiba finished the tournament in a team-best tie for 22nd. He was 2-under in total for the weekend.
When asked about what felt strongest about his game this weekend, Nishiba commented, "I think my ball striking was good as always, it has always been one of my strengths. Also, my short game, just making pars even when I hit bad shots, allowed me to stay in the rounds most of the days."
Sam Lape, who played a very similar round to Nishiba today, also finished his day in even par (72). After he mirrored his first day yesterday with a 3-over (75), today's finish put him into a tie for 30th at even.
Jackson Rivera, in his second tournament start of the fall, couldn't quite recover from an unlucky start and finished his day in 4-over (76). Rivera's day slotted him in at 7-over for the tournament in 61st place.
Coach Hankins commented on his team's performance this weekend, saying, "We really buckled down today and went out and put together a solid final round that moved us up the leaderboard. It was cool and a little breezy and the early morning scores reflected that.
I was proud of our team. We just put our heads down and worked at scoring today. Gavin really pulled us up with a phenomenal -5, 67. Antonio bounced back with a 69 and Krando finished off a great tournament with a rock solid, even par, 72."
This weekend was a good test for the USC men's golf team. After a tough second day, the team showed resilience and growth to be able to bounce back and put together an impressive finish. A strong final round for the Trojans gives them momentum heading into their fourth and final contest of the fall at the Preserve Golf Club for the Cal Poly Collegiate in two weeks.
THE GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA INTERCOLLEGIATE
THE LAKESIDE COURSE AT THE GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA
ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA
OCT. 13-15, 2023/PAR 72/7,092 YARDS
TEAMS (15)/FINAL ROUND SCORES:
Virginia - 278+292+269=839/-25
Georgia Tech - 283+283+279=845/-19
East Tennessee St. - 275+284+289=848/-16
Washington - 284+281+284=849/-15
Duke - 285+287+280=852/-12
Charlotte - 287+287+284=858/-6
USC - 286+294+280=860/-4
Texas A&M - 282+291+288=861/-3
Tennessee - 282+293+287=862/-2
Pepperdine - 288+290+285=863/-1
UCLA - 288+293+283=864/E
Clemson - 288+299+278=865/+1
Northwestern - 286+294+283=867/+3
Wake Forest - 281+302+294=877/+13
Georgia Tech (B) - 294+299+285=878/+14
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T1. Algot Kleen, East Tennessee St. - 67+68+70=205/-11
T1. Omar Morales, UCLA - 68+68+69=205/-11
T22. Krando Nishiba, USC - 72+70+72= 214/-2
T30. Sam Lape, USC - 69+75+72=216/E
T38. Gavin Aurilia, USC - 75+76+67=218/+2
T38. Antonio Safa, USC - 71+78+69=218/+2
61. Jackson Rivera, USC - 74+73+76=224/+7
Trojans Live 09.16.24: Gavin Aurilia
Monday, September 16
