The UCSB men’s golf team started off its weekend right Friday, as it shot a collective 854, placing it fifth out of 12 teams at the Del Walker Intercollegiate at the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach.

Junior Greg Wells lead the Gauchos by shooting a one-over-par 214, good for a tie for sixth place. He was able to keep his shots to a consistent minimum shooting 70 for the first round, and then 72 in both the second and third rounds.

Taking first place in the individual scores was Denver’s Barrett Jarosch, who shot 70 in the first and 74 in the second before shooting a deadly 65 in the third round to finish four under par with a 209, just five shots ahead of Wells.

Five shots behind Wells was Santa Barbara sophomore Joe Ryon, who finished six over par after shooting 73 and 71 before dropping to 75 in the third round for a total score of 219.

Finishing in a tie for 37th place were the other three Gauchos competing in the tournament: senior Nick Telliard, junior Michael Feuerstein and freshman Darren Schwartz, each shooting a 225.

Golf is played in a team effort in college, and the team that took first place and its third team title of the year was Lamar University from Beaumont, Texas. The Cardinals were led by freshman Dawie Van Der Walt who tied for third place with Irvine’s Brian Edick with a two-under-par score of 211.

Denver took second place in the team competition finishing with a score of 865 while Long Beach State and Irvine tied for third with a final 866, 12 shots ahead of Santa Barbara.

Next up for the Gauchos, who aren’t even halfway through their season, is the Bill Cullum Invitational at the Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley today and Tuesday.

UCSB will be competing against other Big West teams such as Utah State, Pacific, Cal Poly and host Northridge. Based on the numbers, Cal Poly should prove to be a strong opponent as all of its tournament finishes, like Santa Barbara’s, are in the top-10 finishes.

Last year at this tournament, UCSB shot a collective 895, good for 13th place out of 21 teams. Santa Barbara and the others will have played at this course in the past and could benefit from a mid-season boost in its scores.