College notebook: SSU men’s golf rallies to win NCAA regional tournament by tiebreaker

In the darkness of Saturday evening, the Sonoma State men’s golf team captured program history, bringing home the NCAA South Central/West Regional title for the first time since 2010.

The regional team title — the third for SSU in program history — was decided in dramatic fashion at Foxtail North Golf Course in Rohnert Park. The Seawolves, who entered the final round 14 strokes off first place and in sixth place overall, shot five-under par as a team to force a sudden-death playoff with Western Washington.

After tying the first two playoff holes, the match was called for darkness and went to a tiebreaker, which was the combined total scores of each uncounted score from all three rounds. After totaling up the scores, SSU was declared the winner by two strokes.

Leading the way was senior Griffin Pace, who put together a career week. The Irvine native shot four-under par 68 all three rounds to win the individual title at 12-under par. It was the first time in his career that he went under par all three rounds of a tournament. Additionally, he was the only player in the field to shoot under par in double figures.

Jules Lavigne shot two-under par for the tournament to finish tied for eighth, Alec Padilla shot eight-over to finish tied for 52nd, Colin Huang carded a 12-over to finished tied for 76th and Aidan Oliver rounded out the scores with 17-over par, tied for 92nd.

Keep an eye out for a feature on SSU men’s golf this weekend.

SSU, which is ranked No. 10 in the nation in Division II, will now advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship at Avalon Lakes in Warren, Ohio, where they’ll go up against 19 other teams for a national title.

All-region honors for SSU softball

The accolades keep rolling in for Sonoma State softball star Anna Zoia-Buescher.

The junior outfielder and alum of Montgomery High and Santa Rosa Junior College was named the NCAA Division II All-West Region Player of the Year, becoming the first player in program history to win the award. She was also named to the First-Team All-West Region along with teammates Jordyn Martinez and Giana Hays. Freshman pitcher Charlie Johnson was named to the second team.

Zoia-Buescher was also named the California Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year for helping lead SSU to its first-ever regular-season conference title. She, along with the other first-team honorees, are now eligible for All-American honors, which will be released in the coming weeks.

SSU wrapped up its season last week with a first-round exit in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Seawolves finished the year 35-15 overall and ranked No. 16 in the nation.

Fonoti earns all-region honors

SSU baseball also got an All-West Region selection in junior pitcher Tanner Fonoti, who earned honorable mention recognition.

Fonoti finished out the year strong, emerging as one of SSU’s top pitchers. He won four games during a stretch where the Seawolves won seven of eight. He finished the year with a 2.43 earned run average, second best in conference, and a 6-3 overall record.

Bomarito makes NCAAs

SSU’s freshman distance star Gianna Bomarito added another historic achievement to her ever-growing list this week when she was selected to compete at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships in Pueblo, Colorado next week.

Bomarito will be competing in the 10,000-meter race and is the first SSU athlete to reach nationals since 2006.

Bomarito has set multiple school records this year in both track and cross country. She won the conference title in the 10K at the CCAA Championships a few weeks ago, becoming the first 10K conference champ in program history and first conference champion in any event since 2002.

The final of the women’s 10K is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. on Thursday, May 25.

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.