Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Heads Up The Coast To Pebble Beach
9/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 28, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FIRST TEE: Long Beach State travels up the coast for the Saint Mary's Invitational at the Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach. First and second rounds are scheduled for Monday, Sept. 29 and final round play on Tuesday, Sept. 30. Both days will begin with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. Michael Drake, Ricky Montanez, Steve Gibson, Kevin Lim and Kevin Roy will go up against 15 other teams (Saint Mary's, Akron, Cal State Northridge, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Miami (OH), Nebraksa, Notre Dame, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Texas-Arlington and Wisconsin).
LAST YEAR AT PEBBLE BEACH: The 49ers finished in 12th place with a three round score of 902 (300-290-312) at last year's Saint Mary's Invitational. Junior Michael Drake was the top 49er as he tied for sixth with a score of 217 (71-72-74). Sophomore Ricky Montanez finished tied for 57th as carded a 230 (75-74-81).
BEACH OPENS SEASON IN COLORADO: The 2008-09 edition of the 49ers kicked off the season at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 49ers finished in 12th place with a score of 897 (307-297-293). Sophmore Ricky Montanez led The Beach as shot a 221 (78-72-71) as he tied for 34th. Three new faces made their 49er debut as freshman Kevin Lim tied for 45th (224), Austin Love tied for 60th (228) and Kevin Roy tied for 68th (230).
NEW COACH, NEW TEAM, NEW ATTITUDE: The 2008-09 season will have an entire different look for the 49ers as Bill Poutre was introduced as the 49ers' new head coach over the summer. Not only will The Beach have a new coach, but will also welcome five newcomers to the team. Bobby Barajas (Santa Maria), Steve Gibson (Orange), Kevin Lim (Seoul, Korea), Austin Love (Redding) and Kevin Roy (Syracuse, N.Y.) all look to contribute to the team for this season. As Orange County Player of the Year, Lim, closed out his high school career at the CIF State Championship at Santa Maria Country Club with a team championship and a 17th place individual finish. Roy, considered one of the best amateur golfers in the northeast, was named the Syracuse District Junior Player of the Year in 2007 and is currently the second ranked amateur in the Syracuse District. He finished third in the 2007 New York State Junior Amateur and has won four times during the 2007 summer junior golf season.
POUTRE TAKES OVER 49ER HELM: Bill Poutre was named the eighth head men's golf coach at Long Beach State as he replaced Bob Livingstone as he retired after 14 years at The Beach. Poutre spent the past four years as the head coach at the University of Hartford, where he turned the Hawks into one of the strongest programs on the east coast. During his four year reign at Hartford, the team's national ranking improved by nearly 120 spots. The Hawks won three regular season tournaments, two conference championships and advanced to the 2007 NCAA Division-I East Regionals. The team's stroke average improved by 16-shots over the period, setting a school record in his final season. Poutre's teams also excelled in the classroom earning a 3.30 cummulative grade point average over the four year period.
VINAL JOINS THE BEACH AS 49ERS' ASSISTANT COACH: Zack Vinal joins The Beach as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's golf teams for the 2008-09 season. Vinal enjoyed a four-year career at Binghamton University (Vestal, N.Y.), where he was a two-time Division-I PING All-Region selection and was selected as a Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar for his accomplishments during his senior year. He holds the career scoring average in the schools Division-I era as well as the single season scoring record at Binghamton University. In addition, he had 22 top-10 tournament finishes during his career. Zack was recognized by the state of New York as the 2008 SUNY Chancellor's Award. The annual award is given to one athlete from the entire New York state university system for outstanding performance in sport and academics.
BACK 9 PARTNERS WITH 49ERS: Back 9 USA and Long Beach State have partnered together that designates Back 9 USA as the official performance apparel and headwear provider for the 49ers men's golf team, coaches, and staff. In addition to outfitting the team, Back 9 USA has also signed on as the Presenting Sponsor of the Del Walker Intercollegiate to be held October 15-17 at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach. "The opportunity to partner with Back 9 USA really gives us the best of both worlds - quality and performance along with a greater selection and input into what products we get to choose from." said 49er Head Coach Bill Poutre.
NEXT UP FOR THE BEACH: The 49ers will next be in action as they travel to Palm Desert for the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Wyoming. The two-day tournament begins on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Classic Club Golf Course.
Players Mentioned
