Washington State junior Kevin Tucker grabbed the first win of his WSU career, Sunday, closing with a round of 72, level par, at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Springs, CA. Tucker had opened with a first-round 70 (-2), and followed it with a 71 (-1) in the second round. His 54-hole total of 213 tied him with Daniel Wax, a senior at the University of Denver but, because there was no time for a play-off, Wax received the first place trophy thanks to his final round 68. I'm really happy for Kevin,' said Cougar coach, Walt Williams. 'He's been knocking on the door for a long time, so it's great to see him get that first win.'
Tucker is the 10th player in WSU history to record six career top-10 finishes. Junior Austin Hurt finished tied for 37th place on 229 (+13), sophomore Nick Ellis shot 230 (+14), Xavier Dailly posted 232 (+16), and Trent Sanders wrapped up the Cougar scores with 238 (+22).
The Cougars shot a final-round 294 to move up two places into fifth. The men finished with a final team score of 896 (+32), ahead of Pac-10 Conference rival Arizona and only three strokes behind Oregon State who finioshed in third place. 'We played pretty solid today,' said Williams. 'We moved up a few spots, I'm pretty pleased with the final round.'
Next up for the Cougars is the Sycuan Collegiate Oct. 20, in San Diego, Calif.