Ducks Ninth after Opening Day at Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. ? The Oregon men's golf team recovered from a rough start by shooting a 4-over 292 in Monday's afternoon round to stand ninth of 15 teams at the Fresno State-Lexus Golf Classic. The Ducks opened the tournament with a 305 and were in 12th place before bouncing back in the afternoon at the par-72 Sunnyside Gold Course.

Oregon's Derek Sipe was tied for 21st at 4-over 148 following rounds of 75-73. Eric Hastings was two shots back and tied for 25th after posting 74-76, while Marcus Sostak was tied for 40th at 7-over 151 (77-74).

San Diego State grabbed the team lead thanks to a pair of players -- Adam Porzak and Aaron Goldberg -- who were tied for first individually at 3-under 141. The Aztecs finished at 12-under 564 as a team and are five strokes ahead of UC Irvine, the only other team under par at 569.

Hawaii was third at 587, followed by Fresno State at 590 and New Mexico State at 592. Texas-El Paso and Pacific were tied for seventh just in front of the Ducks at 594, while Oregon held a one-stroke edge on Kansas State (598).

Individually, Jay Choe of UC Irvine shared the lead with the two Aztecs, with three players right behind at 2-under 142: Roscoe Valentine of San Jose State, Thomas Petersson of Pacific and Brian Edick of UC Irvine.

The final round will be played Tuesday morning.

Fresno State-Lexus Golf Classic

Sunyside Golf Course

Fresno, Calif.

First and Second Rounds

Par 72

Team Standings - San Diego State, 276-288-564. 2, UC Irvine, 283-286-569. 3, Nevada, 292-295-587. 4, Hawaii, 300-288-588. 5, Fresno State, 298-292-590. New Mexico State, 297-295-592. T7, 299-295-594; Pacific, 298-296-594. 9, Oregon, 305-292-597. 10, 294-304-598. 11, Cal State Bakersfield, 308-296-604. T12, Cal State Northridge, 300-305-605; San Jose State, 295-310-605. 14, Boise State, 298-321-619. 15, Wyoming, 315-308-623.

Top Individuals - T1, Adam Porzak, San Diego State, 68-73-141; Aaron Goldberg, San Diego State, 71-70-141; Jay Choe, UC Irvine, 68-73-141. T4, Roscoe Valentine, San Jose State, 68-74-142; Brian Edick, UC Irvine, 74-68-142; Thomas Petersson, Pacific, 71-71-142.

Oregon Results - T21, Derek Sipe, 75-73-148. T33, Eric Hastings, 74-76-150. T40, Marcus Sostak, 77-74-151. T44, Matt Ma, 80-72-144; Ted Whitney, 79-73-152. WD, Joey Benedetti, WD-79-WD.

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