USD chips win in 49er Classic

By Gerald Frazier
Daily Forty-Niner

Men's Golf

The Long Beach State men's golf team finished second after a loss to the University of San Diego in a playoff for the team title at the 49er Collegiate Classic in Long Beach this past weekend.

San Diego pulled off an incredible shot to win after the fourth hole in the playoffs.

"The guy from San Diego (Berry Hensen) chipped in just an impossible shot," 49er Coach Bob Livingstone said. "He was 10 yards over of the green and he chipped in, so they beat us by one."

The 49ers bolted into the playoffs by shooting 289 in the third round, matching Washington State for best in third-round scoring.

The 49ers and San Diego both shot 876 for the three rounds to force the playoff. UC Irvine shot 297-288-292 (877) to finish third.

In individual scoring sophomore Nick Seymour led the 49ers, tying for fourth overall, shooting 75-70-70 (215) after three rounds.

Senior John Mallinger finished tied for 10th place, shooting 70-71-77(218). Other 49er notables were Brian Merrick (223), Chris Gilley (225) and Perry Dickey (227).

"We were disappointed at the result of the playoff, but overall how we played was very encouraging," Livingstone said.

The 49ers are now at the midway point of the season and look to continue successfully into the second half.

"We got a lot of good wins, we finished in the top five in all but one tournament and we had a couple of very good individual performances," Livingstone said.

" I think everybody would agree we probably could have done better," he added.   "We are going to have to improve if we are going to advance past the regionals next May, but we have two months to work on things."

The 49ers will start the second half of its season at the Ping-Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz. on January 29-30.