PLEASANTON, Calif. – The Western Washington University men's golf team is in the middle of the pack after the first day of the Bay Area Invitational played Monday at The Club at Ruby Hill.

 

In their second spring tournament, the Vikings shot rounds of 302 (+14) and 292 (+4) to finish the first 36 holes of the 54-hole tournament at 18-over-par 594. Cal State East Bay holds the lead in the 15-team tournament finishing the first two rounds at 3-under-par 573. Tournament host Holy Names is tied for 6^th place at 15-over-par 591 just ahead of WWU.

 

"It was an up-and-down day for us on the course," said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. "Ethan (Casto) stayed very patient and it payed off with a solid final round. Jordan (Lee) played solid in the afternoon. It was great to see Ethan, Jordan, Brody (Bonfilio) and Aidan (Thain) birdie one of their last holes. We are hoping for a solid team round tomorrow to close out the tournament."

 

Ethan Casto continues his remarkable senior season, aiming for another top-10 finish. Casto is tied for 9^th place at 1-under-par 143, carding rounds of 74 (+2) in the morning and 69 (-3) in the afternoon. In six tournaments leading into the Bay Area Invitational, Casto has recorded five top-10 finishes and now has played 12 of his 20 rounds at or under par (8 rounds in the 60s).

 

Sophomore Jordan Lee is tied for 34^th place at 5-over-par 149 and sophomore Devin Andrews is tied for 43^rd at 7-over-par 151. Sophomore Aidan Thain is one stroke back of Andrews in 48^th place at 8-over-par 152 and junior Brody Bonfilio is tied for 55^th in the 85-player field at 10-over-par 154.

 

WWU's afternoon round of 4-over-par 292 was tied for the 4^th-best among the 15-team tournament field.

  

Here is a look at the first and second round results from Monday's competition at the Bay Area Invitational played at the par 72, 7,020-yard The Club at Ruby Hill. Tuesday's final round is scheduled to start with a 7:30 am shotgun start with the Vikings teeing off holes 5-8. The tournament Live Leaderboard can be tracked via Golfstat.com.

 

 

Here is a look at the remainder of the 2019-20 season schedule and how the Vikings have finished so far in the five fall and one spring tournaments:

 

 

Fans can follow the WWU Men's Golf program online at WWUVikings.com/MGolf, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUGolf), Instagram (@wwugolf) and Facebook (@WWUMGolf).

 

The WWU men's golf team has an incredible streak of advancing to the NCAA Championships in each of the 21 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season, including a 3^rd-place finish at the 2013 national championship. The program has produced 17 All-Americans and has won 9 of 12 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008, including the 2019 title. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 8 of 12 tournaments, including 2018 champion Ethan Casto and 2019 champion Brody Bonfilio.