U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The UC Santa Barbara Golf team was back in action this week at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Gauchos competed across three days at the Eisenhower Golf Course, finishing in sixth place out of 22 teams with Nick Waldock, Ryan Gay, Zekun Fang, Jackson Turner and Will Hoff in the lineup.
 
"This was a great team effort all around," said Head Coach Chris Massoletti. "Everyone contributed and battled out there. I'm really, really proud of how we bounced back after last week and showed we can learn from our mistakes. We also had a couple of great individual performances from Nick and Ryan to lead the team. There is still a lot to learn and develop in this young squad, but this was a step in the right direction."
 
One of the best performances for the Gauchos came from Waldock. The sophomore had a great showing as he started the tournament with a 72 before going two under on the second day. He topped that all off by shooting one under during the final round as he finished the tournament tied for sixth. Also having a great outing for the Gauchos was Gay. He went even during the first and third rounds while going one under on Day Two, which led to him ending the tournament tied for 15th.
 
Along with the team's performance, the Gauchos also had Matt Monheim, Jack Watters and Dylan Ma compete as individuals. Monheim had one of the best performances of his career as he shot two rounds of 68 on the last two days of competition.
 
"On the individual front, I was really stoked for Matt," Massoletti said. "He had a tough start then backed it up by shooting eight under his next two rounds. All three individuals improved each day."
 
The Gauchos will take the next two weeks to fine tune their game back in Santa Barbara before making their way north for the Alister Mackenzie Invitational hosted by Cal. This tournament will take place from Oct. 7 through Oct. 8. More information on this tournament will be available in the coming weeks.