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San Diego State grabs Saint Mary's Invitational lead
San Diego State's P.J. Samiere <br>(San Diego State Athletics Photo)
San Diego State's P.J. Samiere
(San Diego State Athletics Photo)

PEBBLE BEACH, CA (OCTOBER 25, 2016) -- San Diego State has moved into the lead at the Saint Mary's Invitational being held at Poppy Hills Golf Club. The 11-over Aztecs will carry a four-stroke lead into the final day over host St. Mary's.

No. 20 San Diego State is being paced by three top-10 players; junior Blake Abercrombie and junior PJ Samiere are tied for fourth at 2-over while senior Gunn Yang is 3-over in a tie for ninth.

The best round of the group was posted by Samiere in the way of bogey-free 4-under 67. Samiere, the 2016 Southwestern Amateur winner, was even until the 14th hole when he rolled in his first birdie of the day. Following a par on the ensuing hole he carded three straight birdies to close out the day.

Leading the medalist chase by four-strokes is St. Mary's freshman Eduardo Carrete. Sitting at 5-under, Carrete has combined scores of 69-68. On Tuesday the top junior player out of Mexico concluded his round in style thanks an eagle on the par-5 18th. Previously Carrete had birdied five-times, including three of the first four, and bogeyed four times.

The only other player under-par is San Francisco's Tim Widing at 1-under, in third is Arizona's George Cunningham at 1-over while Abercombie and Samiere are among a group of five tied for fourth at 2-over.

Behind the top two in the team standings are Fresno State (+20) in third, San Francisco (+22) in fourth and Nevada (+25) in fifth.

ROUND ONE RECAP

Gonzaga and Fresno State share the lead following the initial day of the Saint Mary's Invitational. The two teams posted scores of 6-over at Poppy Hills Golf Club.

Leading the Zags so far is the even-par Tyler Munetake. On Monday Munetake birdied three times, but also carded a double-bogey and a bogey. The sophomore rolled in birdies on Nos. 1, 6 and 15 on his was to an 18-hole third place tie.

Additionally a strong round was turned in by Gonzaga sophomore David Ganz, who posted a 1-over 72 to tie for sixth.

For co-leader Fresno State it was Justin Avery paving the way. Avery, a junior, joined Munetake in a tie for third with an even-par 71. The highlight of the round was an eagle on the par-5 10th that went was combined with two birdies and four bogeys.

Two other Bulldogs are inside the top-10, sophomore Alex Lee and junior Greg Gildea both who are part of a 1-over share of sixth place.

The medalist race is being led by Eduardo Carrete of St. Mary's and San Francisco's Tim Widing at 2-under 70.

Carrete, just a freshman, moved to the top of the leaderboard with a busy scorecard that was composed of six birdies, six bogeys and a difference making eagle on the par-5 9th. From Mexico, Carrete was the top-ranked junior player in the country.

“Well I thought I played a pretty good round,” Carrete told St. Mary's Athletics. "The day started off really well on the first hole, but the front nine was a bit of a roller-coaster with birdies and bogeys. Then I got an eagle on the ninth which got me rolling a bit. The back nine started off well, but I struggled a bit on the last couple of holes. I finished with a birdie so it was a really good round for me.”

For Widing his scorecard included six birdies and four bogeys. The freshman from Sweden was even-par through 15-holes before birdieing the 16 and 17th holes.

Along with Munetake and Avery it is Matthew McCarty of Santa Clara tied for third at even-par. Seven others share sixth at 1-over.

Four teams are tied for third at 12-over; St. Mary's, Oregon State, Arizona and Santa Clara.

-St. Mary's Athletics contributed to this story

View results for Saint Mary's Invitational

ABOUT THE Saint Mary's Invitational

54-hole men's college tournament hosted by St. Mary's College (CA). Team (best four scores out of five players each round) and individual competitions.

View Complete Tournament Information

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