CSUSM men’s golf team finished in third place at the inaugural appearance in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships on April 18 at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.

The Cougars tied for third place with Cal State East Bay and rounded out the top four with Chico State in first and Stanislaus State in second.

CSUSM’s continuing candidacy in NCAA Division II made them ineligible to advance to medal round in the CCAA championships. Cal State East Bay took their place in what would have been a semifinal match against Sonoma State University.

“We were pretty bummed because we were pretty confident that we could have won,” Senior TJ Masters said. “We don’t really understand the rule in all honesty, but we still had a great time. It didn’t really affect us as a team. We just went out there and enjoyed our last round as a team.”

During a successful 2015-2016 season, the team took first place at the Interwest Wildcat Invite and CSUSM Fall Classic, both in October, and the CSUSM Fujikura Invite in February, where Dylan Healey also topped the leaderboard. They also beat Chico State, the number one ranked team in the CCAA, twice during the season, showing true promise for the seasons to come.