GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's golf team will get a chance to preview the conference and national championship course and compete against several of the nation's top teams when they play in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, beginning on Sunday.
The nationally-ranked Mavericks will play in the 54-hole tournament at the Boulder Creek Golf Course in Boulder City, Nevada just outside Las Vegas. Single 18-hole rounds are slated Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Sunday's round is slated to begin with a shot gun start at 11:30 a.m. PST (12:30 p.m. Mountain). The Mavs have been paired with Cal State Monterey Bay, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) and St. Mary's (Texas) for the opening round.
Monday and Tuesday's rounds are slated to begin at 8 a.m. PST (9 a.m. Mountain).
The course will later play host to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships from Apr. 19-21 and also to the NCAA Division II Championships, which the Mavs hope to qualify for in May.
That opportunity as also attracted a loaded field for the upcoming regular season event, which is slated to include 20 teams.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis is hosting the event.
Live scoring can be found on the
SCOREBOARD Powered by Clippd website at this link.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks opened their spring campaign at the Visit Stockton D-II Invitational played Monday and Tuesday at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, California.
The Mavs finished eighth in the field of 21 teams with a 36-hole score of 584 (+8) and were within five shots of third place.
The Mavs carded a team score of 293 (+5) in Monday's round as
Leo Lavalle fired a 3-under par 69 to stand in second place of the 112-man field through one round. The sophomore then slipped back into a tie for 20
th with a 36-hole total of 145 (+1).
Meanwhile,
Luke Wagstaff posted a 73 (+1) in Monday's round before coming back to match Lavalle's 69 in Tuesday's lap around the par-72 course. In the process, he moved up in to a tie for 13
th overall at 142 (-2) to lead the Mavs on the day and the tournament as a whole.
Timmy Cavarno,
Dylan Everett and
Jacob Gonzalez all tied for 49
th at 150 (+6) as all five Mavericks finished in the top half of the field.
Lineup Look
The Mavericks will use the same 5-man lineup as they did in California early this week with
Leo Lavalle,
Timmy Cavarno,
Dylan Everett,
Luke Wagstaff and
Jacob Gonzalez beginning in the No. 1-5 spots, respectively. Coach
Scott Sullivan will also bring freshman
Henry Starr to play as an individual.
Freshman Starters
Freshman
Jacob Gonzalez made his first career team start for the Mavs at the Visit Stockton D-II Invitational after leading the Mavs in Sullivan's spring qualifying rounds. He posted back-to-back rounds of 75 and was one of three Mavericks in a 49
th place log-jam at 150 (+6).
Gonzalez had played in two tournaments in the fall, leading the CMU "B" squad at the San Juan Intercollegiate before playing as an individual at the Bob Wrtitz Invitational. He now has a scoring average of 73.14 in seven rounds.
Fellow freshman
Henry Starr, who will play as an individual this week, was in the Mavs' top five throughout the fall. He recorded a 73.64 scoring average in the fall, tying Gonzalez for ninth at the San Juan Intercollegiate.
Twenty-One
With Blackjack being a popular casino game in Las Vegas, it is fitting to compare the number 21 to the Mavericks.
CMU will enter the Las Vegas Desert Classic with 21 total rounds in the 60's this season after
Leo Lavalle and
Luke Wagstaff both recorded 69's earlier this week in California.
Those 21 rounds have come from eight different players Lavallae leads the Mavs with six such rounds, including two of the Mavs' three season-bests of 65 thus far.
Dylan Everett has four rounds of 69 or better this season while
Timmy Cavarno has three rounds in the 60s.
Jacob Gonzalez,
Henry Starr and
Luke Wagstaff all have a pair while
Baptiste Laborde and Indigo Badal both have one.
Loaded Field
Half (Ten) of the 20 teams entered in the Las Vegas Desert Classic occupy spots in the
top 25 of the latest SCOREBOARD Powered by clippd rankings.
The Mavericks are amongst that group and now sit 19
th in the latest rankings, published on Wednesday, following their efforts in California. They were ranked 17
th a week prior.
No. 3 West Florida, No. 4 Florida Southern, No. 7 St. Mary's (Texas) and CSU Pueblo, which moved up to tenth after winning the tournament in California, are all amongst the nation's top ten. No. 11 North Georgia, No. 13 Dallas Baptist, No. 16 Central Missouri, No. 18 West Texas A&M and No. 20 Cal State East Bay will also compete in Nevada.
The top ranked individual in the country Donte Goppuso of Florida Southern will also play as well. Third-ranked TJ Thompson of West Florida and No. 9 Kongpop Kaikaew of St. Mary's are also ranked amongst the nation's top ten individuals.
CMU's
Leo Lavalle and
Dylan Everett are amongst the nation's top players as well and sit 44th and 65th in the latest SCOREBOARD individual rankings.
In the polls
The Mavericks also ended the fall season ranked 14
th in the
Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll. The next poll is due out on Mar. 6.
They are also one of ten teams in the top 25 that is slated to compete at the tournament. West Florida is also ranked third in the poll ahead of No. 5 Florida Southern and No. 9 St. Mary's.
West Texas A&M, North Georgia, Central Missouri are all just ahead of the Mavs in the No. 11-13 spots of the poll while CSU Pueblo is ranked 16
th. No. 23 Cal State-East Bay and No. 24 Lincoln Memorial are also in the poll.
Up Next
After playing five competitive rounds in a span of nine days while previewing the courses to be used at the conference, regional and national championships, the Mavs will take a brief hiatus from competition. They will return to action at Cal State San Bernardino's Coyote Classic on Mar. 23-24 at the Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, California.
