Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Opens Spring Season In Arizona
2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
January 24, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FIRST TEE: After a three month break, the Long Beach State men's golf team returns to action as the 49ers open the spring season at the Ping Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz. hosted by the University of Arizona ... first and second round play begins on Monday, Jan. 28 at the Arizona National Golf Course ... final round action concludes on Tuesday, Jan. 29. ... there will be 16 teams participating: Arizona, Long Beach State, UCLA, California, Tennessee, Texas, BYU, UNLV, Tulsa, UC Irvine, Washington, San Diego State, New Mexico, Nevada, Georgia Southern and East Tennessee State.
LIVINGSTONE ON SPRING SEASON: "We are excited to get back into tournament play. We had some really, really good rounds in our qualifying tournament for this trip, so we have some positive thoughts going in," said 49er Head Coach Bob Livingstone. "Three of the people traveling have played this course, which is a huge advantage, as it has a lot of blind tee shots or shots over the desert where you really need to commit to your line of play."
LAST TIME AT THE PING: The Forty-Niners finished in 16th place with a 911 score at last year's Ping Intercollegiate ... sophomores Michael Drake and Karl Katnik participated in last year's tournament ... Drake (73-75-77) was the top scorer for LBSU as he completed the three-round tournament tied for 61st with a 225 ... Katnik finished tied for 76th with a score of 230 (83-74-73) ... this mark the second consecutive year, seventh overall, the 49ers have played in the Ping Intercollegiate ... in 2003, Long Beach State finished in 11th place with an 855 score.
LBSU CLOSES FALL SEASON AT DEL WALKER: The 49ers closed out the fall season as they hosted the 12th annual Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic at the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach ... LBSU recorded a 901 to finish in 8th place ... on the individual side, sophomore Aaron Slonim led the 49ers as he finished tied for 20th with a one-over 214 ... Colorado State claimed the team title and Arizona's Roberto Galletti won the individual championship.
KELLER RETURNS FOR SPRING: The 49ers will be fully reloaded as senior Jeremy Keller returns back to action after sitting out for three semesters due to injury and illness ... "I am very happy for Jeremy. He has been through a lot over the last year and a half, and to see him come back and throw up a really good final round in our last day of qualifying to claim the last spot is encouraging," said 49er Head Coach Bob Livingstone. "I think he'll be a little nervous to start, but he has played the course, and should do just fine."
WELCOME BIG BROTHER: This past fall, Forty-Niners welcomed its newest member, JJ Katnik to the team ... JJ is the older brother of current sophomore Karl ... Katnik some plenty of action at the Del Walker Intercollegiate as he finished in 25th place with a two-over par 215.
LIVINGSTONE WILL RETIRE AT SEASON'S END: Long Beach State Head Coach Bob Livingstone announced that he will retire at the end of the season after serving 14 years at the helm of the 49er men's golf program ... "After much thought and for several reasons, I have decided that when this school year ends I will not seek a contract renewal," said Livingstone ... "I am making this announcement now so that the high school golfers we are recruiting will have all of the information they need to make their decisions ... Rest assured I am still committed to the team and the players for the remainder of this year ... This is an extremely young team, but one with phenomenal talent, and our goal is to put together all of the things we are working on by the end of the spring, when the Big West Championship and NCAA playoff selections take place ... While we haven't been as consistent as we would like this semester, we have shown much potential in our five fall events, and I believe we will continue to improve and peek at the right time."
NEXT UP FOR THE BEACH: The 49ers will next be in action as they travel across the Pacific Ocean for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Honolulu, Hawai'i ... the three-day tournament begins on Wednesday, Feb. 20-Friday, Feb. 22.
Players Mentioned
