LAKESIDE, Calif. -- Ben Geyer fired a final round 4-under par, while Anders Engell finished in a tie for second-place to lead the Saint Mary's golf team to an eighth-place finish at the Barona Collegiate Cup at Barona Creek Golf Club.

The Gaels finished the event with a 3-over par 1,083 and finished four strokes behind seventh-place Northwestern.  Host San Diego State won the team event wth a 29-under par 1,051, just two strokes ahead of second-place USC. 

"We got off to a rough start today and put ourselves in position to have a bad tournament," said SMC head coach Scott Hardy.  "But, we were able to find our games on the last nine and salvage a few good wins."

Engell, a senior from Oslo, Norway, was the only Gael to shoot three-straight rounds under par and finished in a tie for second-place in the 108-player field.  He posted rounds of 64-70-71 for a three-round total of 11-under par 205.  Five of Engell's six competitive rounds this spring have been under par and he has finished in a tie for runner-up honors in each of his last two outings.

"I'm proud of Anders for another very good tournament and his finish today," said Hardy.  "He handled the pressure of being near the top of the leaderboard for the entire event."

Geyer, who shot identical rounds of 2-over 74 in each of the first two rounds of the tournament, recovered to register a final round score of 4-under par 68.  A native of Arbuckle, Calif., he finished in a tie for 31st overall with an even-par 216.

Freshman Jonathan De Los Reyes finished in a tie for 41st overall with rounds of 74-71-74 for a 3-over par 219.  The Antioch, Calif. native has placed among the team's top three finishers in each of his last three outings.

Sophomore Alex Bungert, seeing action in the lineup for the first time this spring, went 72-77-73 for a 6-over par 222 and tied for 52nd.  Junior Mac McClung shot 73-76-74 for a 7-over 223 to finish in a tie for 56th, while senior Eric Grimberg finished tied for 63rd overall with an 8-over 224.

Saint Mary's returns to action Monday at the Duck Invitational at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club.  The Gaels will feature a lineup of McClung, Geyer, Engell, Grimberg and De Los Reyes.  Sophomore Nick Sako will be participating in the event as an individual.

"The team is excited to be heading straight to another event so they can earn a little redemption and refocus," said Hardy.  "Eugene Country Club is a world class golf course and our team is looking forward to competing there."

The team will play in the OGIO-UCSB Intercollegiate April 2-3 in its final regular-season tournament prior to the West Coast Conference Championships, scheduled for April 16-18 at San Juan Oaks Golf Club in Hollister, Calif.

Barona Collegiate Cup
Barona Creek Golf Club Black
Lakeside, Calif.
Par 72, 7393 yards

Fin.  Team                             Scores         Total    Par
   1  San Diego State................  348  350  353   1051    -29
   2  Southern California............  352  354  347   1053    -27
   3  North Texas....................  344  363  353   1060    -20
   4  Georgia Tech...................  352  366  348   1066    -14
   5  Kent State.....................  343  367  357   1067    -13
   6  TCU............................  349  366  363   1078     -2
   7  Northwestern...................  358  365  356   1079     -1
   8  Saint Mary's (CA)..............  355  368  360   1083     +3
   9  Illinois.......................  358  376  356   1090    +10
  10  Pepperdine.....................  360  372  360   1092    +12
  11  Arizona........................  360  373  361   1094    +14
  12  Pacific........................  364  376  367   1107    +27
  13  Hawai'i........................  361  377  387   1125    +45
  14  Central Connecticut State......  364  385  392   1141    +61
  15  Utah...........................  371  402  369   1142    +62
  16  Loyola Marymount...............  373  387  386   1146    +66

Fin.  Player                Scores        Total    Par
t  2  Anders Engell........ 64   70   71    205    -11
t 31  Ben Geyer............ 74   74   68    216      E
t 41  J. De Los Reyes...... 74   71   74    219     +3
t 52  Alex Bungert......... 72   77   73    222     +6
t 56  Mac McClung.......... 73   76   74    223     +7
t 63  Eric Grimberg........ 72   78   74    224     +8