The University of La Verne battled both the competition and the elements during the two-day, 36 hole SCIAC #2 Tournament at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc. The Leopards would conclude weekend action with a second place finish, posting a team total of 620 (+44).
The Leos opened with a 308 total on Saturday followed by 312 during Sunday's round. La Verne finished one stroke behind first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (619) for the tournament and 19 strokes ahead of third-place finisher and tourney host Cal Lutheran (639). Redlands placed fourth with a total of 641.
As a result of the SCIAC #1 and #2 tournaments, the Leopards maintain a three-stroke advantage over CMS on the overall conference leaderboard heading into the SCIAC Championships.
"La Purisima proved to be a treacherous course, with the winds blowing over 30 miles per hour and ankle high rough, conditions were difficult to say the least," said Leopard head coach Chris Davis.
Among individuals, the Leopard duo of senior Derek Zachman and sophomore Kelby Scharmann and junior Keven Holliday registered second, third and fourth place finishes, respectively. Zachman carded a 150 (76-74) to place a stroke behind medalist CMS's Brad Shigezawa (149). Scharmann shot 153 (73-80) for sole possession of third while Holliday totaled a 154 (78-76) to conclude in a fourth-place tie.
Two other Leopards earned Top 20 finishes as junior Paul Gomez shot 163 to tie for 16th with sophomore Michael Bonicatto posting a total of 166 to tie for 20th place overall.
"I'm proud of how our guys hung in and battled through some severe weather," Davis added. "We are right where we'd like to be heading into th last three rounds of the year at the SCIAC Championships."
La Verne's next competiton will be the 54 hole SCIAC Championships, held April 27-28 at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont.