Men’s Golf: Anteaters eighth at regional

SANTEE — The UC Irvine men’s golf team finished eighth in the NCAA Southwest Regional that concluded Saturday at Carlton Oaks Golf Club in Santee.

Oregon won the 13-team regional with a 54-hole score of 870. Augusta State placed second at 880 while UC Berkeley, Tennessee and UNLV tied for third at 886. Those five teams advance to the NCAA Finals in Chattanooga, Tenn., June 1-6.

UCI and San Diego State tied for eighth at 899.

Nick Delio of Cal State Northridge was the individual champion at three-under-par 213 after he shot a 73 in the final round. He also advances as an individual to the NCAA Finals. Oregon’s Daniel Miernicki (73) finished second at 214 with UNLV’s Eddie Olson (74) and Oregon’s Isaiah Telles (67) tying for third at 215.

UCI senior John Chin shot one-under 71 in the final round and placed ninth at 218. He finished in the top 10 in each of the last 11 tournaments of the season.

Freshman Jerry He shot 76 Saturday and finished 28th at 224. Junior Max Greil carded a 76 as well and placed 57th at 231. Junior Bryan Harris (83) and freshman Michael Yang (76) tied for 68th place at 237.

Coach Paul Smolinski’s Anteaters, who won the program’s sixth Big West Conference title earlier this month, had 11 top-10 finishes, including six top-fives, in 13 tournaments in 2009-10.

This was UCI’s ninth trip to an NCAA regional in the past 10 years and the 12th overall.

— From staff reports