While UH-Hilo men’s golf team likely remained out of contention at Waikoloa, the Vulcans’ Kaelyn Uchida might have fallen out of it.
There wasn’t much in the way of moving and shaking Tuesday for UHH at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate.
The men’s team, the defending tournament champion, moved up a spot to eighth, but they were 22 shots off the pace set by Sonoma State heading to the final round at Waikoloa’s Kings’ Course.
The Vulcans shaved seven strokes off of their Monday score (303), turning in a 296. They are a stroke ahead of Colorado Christian and four in back of Saint Martin’s in the 16-team field.
UHH’s Warren Miller, who was tied for fifth after the first 18 holes, shooting an even-par 72, dropped a bit with a 76 on Tuesday. Teammate Andrew Otani’s shot 72 to get to 4-over, tying Miller for 16th in the field.
Cal State Monterey Bay’s Elis Svard was the leader after firing a 66. The No. 3 ranked player in the country was 7-under and held a four-shot lead over Ryan Vaughan of UC San Diego (69-72). Blake Bourelle of Sonoma State and Aidan Thain of Western Washington were 1-under
The next Vulcans on the scoreboard were Noah Lau (76-74), Taylor Patrick (80-74) and Evan Merrier (79-82).
Sonoma State (1-over) was six shots ahead of Cal State Monterey Bay. Concordia (Ore.) and Stanislaus State were tied for third at 12-over.
Uchida, a sophomore from Waiakea High School, was the first round leader after shooting an even-par 70 on Monday. She found water on Tuesday, settling for an 83 that dropped her back into a tie for 18th at 13-over. UH-Hilo freshman Michelle Kim shot a 75 Tuesday and was the Vulcans’ leader in the tournament at 12-over, tied for 13th.
Concordia (Ore.), tied with Sonoma State after the first day, took over sole possession of first place with a low score of 291. At 35-over, the Cavaliers have a six-shot lead over the Seawolves (41-over) and a nine-stroke advantage over Western Washington. UH-Hilo (313-322) was in eighth place, three shots ahead of St. Martin’s and 11 behind Western New Mexico.
Concordia’s Cammie Decker, the two-time reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year, led the medalist field. She shot a two-under 68 on Tuesday, giving her a three-shot lead (+1) over Cal State Monterey Bay’s Isabel Carpenter (76-68).
After Kim and Uchida, the next Vulcans in the scorebook were Tia Kualii (35th) with 79-83, Taryn Taguma (46th) at 87-81 and Carli Shimokihara (T-50th) at 89-86.
