Pepperdine Pushes Ahead with Record-Setting Performance
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., April 10, 2023 － Pepperdine tallied an 18-hole team Western Intercollegiate record score of 22-under 328 on Tuesday, shattering North Carolina's previous record of 14-under 336 in 2018. The Waves' 36-hole score of 673 (-27) is a new Western Intercollegiate record and they are currently 23 shots better than their 4-under par winning score of 1,050 in 2021. The last three Western Intercollegiate champions have gone on to win the NCAA national championship (Stanford, 2019 / No tourney in 2020 due to Covid / Pepperdine, 2021 / Texas, 2022).
Pepperdine's Sam Choi followed up his opening round of 66 with a 65 today to post 131 (-9) to sit in a tie for first with Oregon’s Owen Avrit. Choi was followed by his teammate Derek Hitchner (68-64=132) who sits in third place alone. The Waves' Roberto Nieves matched the tournament 18-hole record with a 63 (-7) this afternoon, bouncing back after a 77 yesterday. Nieves matches Cal's Aaron Du's 63 in the opening round as Du is currently in third place at 7-under 133.
The second-best team score of the day was recorded by BYU, who shot a 10-under-par 340 to bounce back from its first-round 352 (+2) to move into third place with a two-round score of 692 (-8).
Individually, Avrit posted the only bogey-free round of the day, shooting a 4-under-par 66 for a total score of 131 (-9). After making all pars on the front nine, he was able to birdie both 10 and 11 before making four-straight pars on holes 12 through 15. He closed his round with back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 before closing out with a par on 18.
Caden Fioroni of UNLV and Keanu Akina of BYU are tied for fourth after total scores of 134 (-6).
76th Western Intercollegiate presented by Titleist
Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz, Calif.
6,615 yards, par 70
April 11, 2023
Round 2:
Team scores
| 1. Pepperdine | 673 |
| 2. Oregon | 687 |
| 3. BYU | 692 |
| 4. California | 696 |
| 5. Stanford | 698 |
| 6. UNLV | 709 |
| 7. Colorado State | 711 |
| T8. San Diego State | 712 |
| T8. Arizona | 712 |
| T10. Southern California | 715 |
| T10. San Jose State | 715 |
| 12. Hawaii | 717 |
| 13. UC Irvine | 718 |
| 14. Washington | 721 |
Leading individuals
| T1. Sam Choi, Pepperdine | 131 |
| T1. Owen Avrit, Oregon | 131 |
| 3. Derek Hitchner, Pepperdine | 132 |
| T4. Caden Fioroni, UNLV | 134 |
| T4. Keanu Akina, BYU | 134 |
| T6. Darien Zhao, UC Irvine | 135 |
| T6. Yuki Moriyama, UNLV | 135 |
| T8. Luke Gifford, Pepperdine | 136 |
| T8. Sampson Zheng, California | 136 |
| T10. Davis Bryant, Colorado State | 137 |
| T10. Aaron Du, California | 137 |
| T10. Barclay Brown, Stanford | 137 |