A rough final day at the NCAA Championships knocked the UA menβs golf team down the standings and eliminated the Wildcats from making the match play cut.
UA finished in 15th place in the 30-team event at the Omni La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, California. The top 15 teams after Sunday competed in Mondayβs fourth round, with the top eight after Monday moving on to the match play quarterfinals.
Arizona started the day tied for ninth, just a shot out of eighth. But all five UA golfers were at least 4-over par on the day as the Wildcats shot a 20-over 308 as a team. UAβs four-round total was a 41-over 1,193.
Illinois (1,146) finished first, followed by Vanderbilt (1,162), Virginia (1,163), North Carolina (1,163), Florida State (1,164), Auburn (1,171), Ohio State (1,174) and Georgia Tech (1,177).
Oklahoma finished ninth, followed by Tennessee, Florida, East Tennessee State, Texas, Baylor and UA.
In Tuesday's quarterfinals, Illinois will play Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt will face Ohio State, Virginia will take on Auburn and North Carolina will face Florida State.
Filip Jakubcik finished tied for 31st among individuals to lead UA. He shot a 4-over 76 in the final round to finish with a 6-over 294 total. Hiroshi Tai of Georgia Tech won the individual title with a 3-under 285.
UAβs Tiger Christensen finished with an 8-over 296 total, followed by Wildcat Sam Sommerhauser with an 11-over 299. Sommerhauser was at 5 over Monday, while Christensen was at 6 over.
The Wildcats started the tournament with a bang and were tied for first place after Fridayβs opening round with Virginia with a 2-over 290. But UA shot +39 after that, including a 10 over on Saturday and a 9 over on Sunday to fall to sixth, then ninth and finally 15th.
Golf Channel will air the match play quarterfinals at 10 a.m. Tuesday, followed by the semifinals at 3 p.m. The championship is Wednesday.
