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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cougars big surprise at Pac-10 tourney

The Spokesman-Review

Host Washington State was the surprise of the first day of the Pacific-10 Conference men’s golf tournament at Walla Walla Country Club on Monday.

The Cougars, ranked last in the Pac-10 and 108th nationally by Golfstat, capitalized on the home-course advantage to put together a 36-hole score of 7-over-par 717 for fifth place.

“I think we all know this course very well,” said sophomore Kevin Chen, who is tied for seventh with a 2-under 140, six strokes back of leader Pat More of Arizona State.

Two-time defending West Regional champion UCLA, ranked 15th nationally by Golfstat, had a two-round total of 707 to lead Arizona State by two shots.

Washington, which struggled in last in the first round with a 371, made an 18-stroke improvement in the second to climb up to eighth at 724.

The Huskies were led by sophomore Erik Olson at 3-under 139. Sophomore Alex Prugh from Spokane (Ferris) is tied for 27th at 3-over 145, but he recovered for an opening 75 with a 70 in the afternoon.

•Idaho, with two in the top 20, is in sixth place after two rounds of the Big West tournament in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

The Vandals have a 36-hole total of 591. UC Riverside leads with a 565.

UI’s Pete Williams is 12th with a 145 and Gabe Wilson is tied for 16th at 147. Both had a round of 71.

•Whitworth is second, just a stroke back of leader Willimatte, 599-600, going into the windup of the Northwest Conference championship today at Blue River, Ore.

Mike Van Wingerden of Whitworth is fourth, five strokes back, with a 5-over 147 for 36 holes, including a 2-under 70 in the second round.

•Community Colleges of Spokane had two top-15 finishers and placed fourth in the eight-school Skagit Valley Invitational at Burlington.

Todd Christensen from Mead shot 9-over 153 and Aaron Biel from Lewis and Clark had a 10-over 154 to lead CCS to a 630 team total. Host Skagit Valley won with a 598.

Women

For the second time in two invitational events, Community Colleges of Spokane produced a championship, winning the Skagit Valley Invitational at Burlington, Wash.

Ali Plaster from Central Valley finished second with a 173, seven shots behind medalist Cara Gemby from Douglas (British Columbia), to lead CCS to a 34-stroke victory over Green River, 549-583.

CCS had four in the top seven, with Megan Bruce (185) fourth, Amber Watson (194) sixth and Nicole Hermanson (200) seventh.