NCAA men's golf championship: USC advances to final round
The final eight teams remaining in the 2015 NCAA men's golf championship began match play Tuesday, with the fourth seed USC competing against fifth-seeded Texas, and No. 8 seed UCLA competing against top-seeded Illinois to begin the quarterfinals in Bradenton, Florida. By day's end, only one Pac-12 Los Angeles school still remained. Your recap of today's quarterfinal and semifinal action:
After five extremely competitive days on the links, No. 4 seed USC has proven itself to be one of the top two men's golf squads in the nation as it prepares for an NCAA championship round of match play with No. 7 seed LSU.
The Trojans' Tuesday began with a victory over No. 5 seed Texas, with wins by junior Bobby Gojuangco (4 and 2), freshman Sean Crocker (1-up thru 19), and sophomore Rico Hoey (2 and 1). Texas did not win a pairing with the Trojans.
Next came the semifinal against vaunted opponent No. 1 Illinois. Again, the Trojans' Bobby Gojuangco (3 and 2) and Rico Hoey (2 and 1) contributed with wins in their pairings, as did senior Eric Sugimoto (3 and 1) to secure a place in the final. The only Trojan to be defeated in a pairing on Tuesday was Sean Crocker, who lost (2 and 1) to Illinois' Thomas Detry. USC will now face surprise finalist LSU, who defeated second-seeded Vanderbilt and third-seeded Georgia to secure a place on championship Wednesday. Morale is high in the Trojans' camp:
These guys. #FightOn #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/HtWQ0L8PK2
— USC Mens Golf (@USCMensGolf) June 3, 2015
After an improbable but impressive berth into the final eight, eighth-seeded UCLA was sent packing early on Tuesday by Illinois. Though juniors Jonathan Garrick and Lorens Chan won their rounds at 1-up and 4 and 2, respectively, the efforts were not enough to surmount the three other pairings that the Illini won. UCLA finishes the season tied for fifth in the nation, and with a ranking like that, it's fair to say greatness is Bruin in Westwood.
The @uclamensgolf team finishes the year tied for 5th in the nation. Congrats to the Bruins on a great season! pic.twitter.com/JADGswF88u
— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) June 2, 2015
Stay with Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12.com for continuing coverage of the 2015 NCAA men's golf championship.