COTO DE CAZA, Calif. – The UC Riverside Highlanders surged to the top of the leaderboard after two impressive rounds at the Van Harte Orange County Collegiate Classic, posting scores of +4 in round one and a tournament-best -3 in round two to finish the day at +1 overall. The Highlanders hold a narrow lead over CSU Fullerton (+3), with UC Irvine (+9) rounding out the top three.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Leading the way for UC Riverside was Von Wasson, who opened the tournament with a spectacular 66 (-6) in the first round before following up with a 73 (+1) in round two. His two-round total of 139 (-5) puts him in a tie for second place, just one stroke behind the overall leader.
• Hartej Grewal provided a major spark for the Highlanders in round two, bouncing back from a 77 (+5) in round one with an impressive 70 (-2) in the second round. His 147 (+3) total places him in a tie for 15th.
• Chanhee Ryu followed closely behind, carding rounds of 72 (E) and 76 (+4) to finish at 148 (+4), placing him in a tie for 18th.
• Liam Hartling delivered a steady performance for the Highlanders, finishing with rounds of 77 (+5) and 74 (+2) for a 151 (+7) total, good for a tie for 29th.
• Mark Gao provided one of the biggest highlights of the day, rebounding from an 86 in round one with a phenomenal 68 (-4) in round two. His two-round total of 154 (+10) places him in a tie for 36th, but his second-round performance was his personal best as a Highlander.

NOTABLES

• UC Riverside's -3 (285) in round two was the best team score of the tournament so far.
• Wasson's 66 (-6) in round one was one of the lowest rounds of the event.
• Grewal's second-round 70 (-2) was one of the key factors in UC Riverside maintaining the top spot.
• The Highlanders played the par-5s at a combined -7 over the two rounds, the best of any team in the field.
• Gao second score (-4) was his personal best. 

UP NEXT

• UC Riverside will look to close out the tournament with another strong performance in the final round tomorrow, aiming to secure the team title.
• Live Scoring link: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/234326/scoring/team