Every team has the occasional bad game. For the first time this season, the UCSB men’s golf team collapsed, tying for 20th place at the UCSB-hosted Bite/Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Tournament in Lompoc.

“It was basically one of the most disappointing performances for a good Gaucho golf team,” Head Coach Steve Lass said. “I don’t know if we’ll even be invited back to our own tournament next year after a performance like that.”

The Gauchos normally finish between fourth and eighth place among similar teams, but the mentality just was not there on Monday and Tuesday. According to the players, UCSB ended Monday morning with a terrible first round and slid downhill from there.

Sophomore Joe Ryon finished first for the Gauchos, 42nd overall and 12 over par. Junior Greg Wells came in 72nd overall at 17 over, followed by junior Michael Feuerstein (93), senior Nick Telliard (98) and freshman Darren Schwartz (106). The team score totaled 934 at the end of round three, 70 above par and 55 points above the winning team, Davis (879).

“Altogether, we weren’t together as a team,” Ryon said. “It was a complete collapse and we just couldn’t come back. There were lots of shots we missed.”

Three Gauchos entered the tournament as individuals, so their scores did not affect the team’s total. Sophomore Sean Meier matched Ryon’s 12-over finish, freshman Marty Melcher finished 19 over par and freshman Ryan Keefe hit 21 over.

Despite the poor results, Lass is confident that the team will come back and do well in this weekend’s tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. Although the Gauchos will fall in the rankings, the lost points can easily be made up.

“It was just our week to have a bad tournament; every team has one every year,” Lass said. “It was embarrassing that it was our home tournament, but I think we can come back.”