Fall season closes with GCU's 6th-place finish

Monday, October 28

The Preserve Golf Club | Carmel, Calif.

Grand Canyon

The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate

Photo by: Courtesy of The Preserve Golf Club

10/29/2024 3:58:00 PM | Men's Golf

Results

Lopes freshman duo finishes in top 30, led by Diehl in 14th

By: Nick Macdonald

CARMEL, Calif. – Grand Canyon concluded its fall season Tuesday, placing sixth among 13 teams at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Califronia.

GCU shot 9 over par in Tuesday's third and final round after being one of four teams to finish 36 holes Monday before play was halted by darkness, posting rounds of 3 over and 2 under.

The tournament included seven teams ranked in the top 50 via Scoreboard NCAA Division I rankings, with No. 15 UCLA winning the tournament at 23 under. No. 45 San Diego State took second at 13 under, while Colorado State placed third at 9 under. The Lopes finished one stroke higher than Utah, which entered with a No. 10 national ranking. GCU also defeated No. 47 California and No. 48 LMU after entering Monday at No. 56 nationally.

Lopes freshman Matthew Diehl carded an even score Tuesday and finished 2 under for the tournament, tying for 14th. Diehl was exceptional on par-5 holes, scoring 6 under on such holes to tie for fifth best among the 72-player field. Diehl birdied three of his first five holes Tuesday and finished with 10 for the tournament.

Classmate Nixon Lauritzen shot 2 over Tuesday and tied for 28th at 3 over. Lauritzen tied for the fifth-most birdies over 54 holes, recording 14 with four on Tuesday. He ended his day with two birdies over his final four holes. The freshman duo of Diehl and Lauritzen combined for six top-15 finishes in their first collegiate fall seasons.

GCU graduate Tommaso Zorzetto tied for 36th (5 over), while senior Kiko Coelho tied for 49th (9 over) and sophomore Gavin O'Neill tied for 64th (14 over). Coelho had the most pars among the team with 37, tied for fourth most in the field. GCU totaled 166 pars, the tournament's third most and four back of Oregon and California.

Lopes senior Josh McCabe, an individual entry, shot 11 over and finished in a tie for 57th.

GCU takes time off before returning to action Feb. 13-15 at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Lihue, Kaua'i, Hawaii. Of the Lopes' seven tournaments in the spring, five occur in their home state of Arizona, including the WAC Championship in Payson, Arizona, on April 25-26.