Matt Paulson
Special to the Times

With a third-place finish in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, this year’s national tournament is simply out of reach for the University of La Verne golf team.

Although the final word will not be released to the public until today, head coach Rex Huigens said Redlands, Cal Lutheran and Texas Lutheran will be receiving the three bids for La Verne’s region.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor of Texas has an outside chance of receiving one of four national at-large bids.

Unfortunately, the Leopards will not be as lucky this year.

“We won’t be going to nationals as a team,” Huigens said. “There’s just no way.”

The third-place finish came after shooting a 4-over-par 586 as a team in the final conference tournament Monday at Los Serranos Country Club, which, on any other day, would have probably been good for at least second.

But not today, as Cal Lutheran and Redlands both shot under par, with Cal Lutheran firing a blinding 13-under-par 571, anchored by a 7-under-par 65 and a 4-under-par 68 in the afternoon round. Redlands had a 7-under-par 579.

The Leopards won the conference tournament last year, also at Los Serranos, by five strokes, shooting even par as a team.

“The course wasn’t playing any easier (this year),” said senior Andrew Garcia. “We were just playing mediocre, and all those teams were playing at peak level.”

In fact, the lowest individual scoring average in conference this year – 70.8 by junior Nick Obie of Redlands – is nearly two strokes better than La Verne alumnus Joe Skovron’s 73.48 when he won it in 2003.

“There is no doubt that this year had the best play this conference has ever seen,” Huigens said. “The bar certainly has been raised.”

However, although ULV won’t be going to nationals as a team, freshman Chris Davis, who shot 78-69—147 Monday, does have a chance of going as an individual.

If Mary Hardin-Baylor earns an at-large bid, Davis will be in as an individual, Huigens said.

But that probably won’t happen, he said, as Mary Hardin-Baylor’s stroke average simply isn’t that good and when facing head-to-head against the other teams up for an at-large bid, the team tends to buckle under pressure.

Davis’ play as an individual this year also forecasts positively on next year’s team, which will feature five out this year’s top six. In fact, the top three finishers in Monday’s tournament – Jordan Talah (73-73—146), Davis and Nathan Logan (73-75—148) – are two freshmen and a sophomore.

In addition, junior Doug Green, who started out the year shooting lights out but faltered slightly in the second half of the season, will also be returning.

“We will be just as good as we were this year, if not better,” Green said. “I think everyone’s going to grow up and mature a little bit, and I think we’ll be stronger than we were this year.”

However, the ULV team will bid adieu to Garcia, who received the Jesse Clark Award, which is voted on by the players and given to the most-liked player in the conference. This was Garcia’s third year up for the award.

“That was a huge surprise,” Garcia said. “I really wasn’t expecting it at all. It was humbling. It was neat. It was a good way to cap off the career at La Verne.”

Huigens said he talked to Claremont head coach Bim Jollymour about the voting for the honor.

“It wasn’t close. He won it easily,” Huigens said. “We’re going to miss Andrew, not only for his play but the kind of person he is.”

And despite – or possibly because of – mediocre play this year, Garcia has no reservations about this being the end for him. Although he plans on playing in some amateur tournaments, he has no delusions of professional golf grandeur.

“Golf’s something I go out there and I just try to enjoy,” Garcia said. “Now, I’ll play golf leisurely and just have a good time with it. I’ve realized in my four years that golf doesn’t mean everything.”

Matt Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@ulv.edu.