San Francisco, CA -- The Academy of Art men's golf team finished sixth in the eight team field at the Pacific West Conference Championships in its first official year in NCAA Division II play.
After a strong first place individual conference championship in 2008-09 and a charge at the league championship at the end of this year, the Academy of Art men’s golf team has much to be proud of of their 2009-2010 season.
With a new coach at the helm, and the returning PacWest Champion, the Urban Knights came into the fall season hungry and ready to claim the team’s second individual championship. As the fall season progressed, it looked as if the Urban Knights were going to have their work cut out for them, as they geared up to challenge some of the nation’s top division II programs.
The Urban Knights traveled first to Chico, CA where they faced off against a field of 15 teams during the InterWest Wildcat Classic hosted by Chico State University. Two of the teams finished their season ranked within the top ten golf clubs in the nation with Chico State ranking second and Cal State Stanislaus ranking tenth. “ We are very fortunate to compete in a tremendously strong region. Our competition is always practicing and always tournament ready, therefore we always have to be on the top of our game”, said Head Coach Michele Larkey.
The Urban Knights had many individual highlights over the course of the season. However, as a team they could not find a way to finish higher than 11th place in their three fall tournaments. Then, in the spring the team had trouble breaking into the top 10, finishing tenth in their first three appearances, earning a second place finish at the Dominican University Invitational, and then closing out the season placing 15th in their final three matches before the conference championship.
The high water mark came at the Dominican University Invitational, when the Urban Knights battled defending NCAA Division II national champions’ (Sonoma State University) on a challenging Peacock Gap Golf course to finish second in the three-team field. Matt Garcia led the Knights with a combined three round score of 216.
Sophomore Matt Garcia led the squad for the second season in average score with 75.82 in 28 rounds on the course.
Garcia earned a first place finish while competing in the Sonoma State Men’s Invitational on Oct. 20. Garcia, who shot a 68-70--138 to top all competitors, edged out a member of the [then] number one Chico State Wildcats by one stroke to take the first place honor. Garcia was the only Knight to register a tournament win this season, along with a third place finish at the Dominican University Invitational, Garcia finished the season with two top five finishes and a top 15 finish, in which he placed tied for 12th at the InterWest Wildcat Classic on Oct. 13.
Garcia put together a sophomore season for the Knights that was just as impressive as his freshman campaign. Garcia compiled a stroke average of 75.82 per 18 holes, an improvement of one stroke over his previous season play.
Garcia’s winning round of 68 in the Sonoma State Invitational was the sophomores’ lowest round shot of his career. Garcia was asked to participate in the 79th Annual Dixie Amateur Championship tournament in Coral Springs, Florida on Dec.19th.
However, despite all of his improvement and success, Garcia was unable to capture the PacWest individual championship honors for the second year, and finished tied for 15th out of the 42-player field. Coach Larkey had this to say of the golfer, " Matt is a very accomplished golfer. He has set high goals for himself academically and athletically. I look forward to a strong return from Matt this fall season“.
Erik Majzner played consistently this season for the Urban Knights, finishing with a 76.61 stroke average. “ Erik is a methodical balanced player. He dropped two strokes on his scoring average this year and at this level that type of improvement is significant", said Larkey.
The sophomore from Mexico City, Mexico earned himself a pair of top 15 finishes over the course of the 2009-2010 season. Majnzers’ best showing came at the Dominican University Invitational where he was one of three Urban Knights to place within the top ten. He shot a season low 69 in the opening round of play, to go along with a 73-79--221 final tournament score, placing him tied for sixth.
Majzner held his own during the Pioneer Shootout hosted by Cal State East Bay University on Mar. 7 and despite playing in three days of inclimate weather, with frigid temperatures and strong winds, the sophomore shot his third lowest tournament score of 231 (73-85-75). In a field of 67 golfers, Majzner earned the Knights’ highest spot finishing tied for 17th.
Stuart Favretto earned Academy of Art’s only PacWest first team honor, by finishing in a two-way tie for seventh individually in the Hawaiian Airlines 2010 Pacific West Conference Championship. Favretto led the Urban Knights on the links with a combined three round score of 224 (76-72-76).
Over the course of the season, Head Coach Michele Larkey could rely on the play of the sophomore who continuously provided quality results for the Urban Knights golf club. The returner also used the Dominican University Invitational to show off his skill on the course. Favretto, along with Garcia, and Majzner, returned to San Francisco boasting a top ten finish, placing eighth in the 14-player field. During the second round of competition Favretto shot his second lowest round score of the season (70), which combined with a first round score of 76 and a final round score of 80, gave the sophomore a combined 226, which secured his eighth place spot.
Overall, Favretto finished the season with a 77.21 scoring average, two strokes lower than his previous season. “