TicketsLAS VEGAS -- The No. 40 Cincinnati men's golf team's dream season came to an end Wednesday, as the Bearcats finished eighth at the NCAA's Las Vegas Regional.
UC, making its first team appearance on this stage, fell 14 strokes shy of the No. 5 spot despite a 29-under 835. Arizona State, Stanford, Virginia, San Francisco and East Tennessee State all move on to Scottsdale for the national championship.
Thirteen of 14 teams were below-par, led by the Sun Devils at 59-under.
Sam Jean tied for ninth with a 13-under 203, two strokes shy of reaching Arizona as the regional's top performer from a non-qualifying team. The three-time All-Conference performer and 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-American left with a school-record 69.77 stroke average, besting Austin Squires' 70.62 mark in 2018-19. His 72.26 career mark also eclipsed Squires' 72.45 from 2015-19.
"It was an unbelievable experience for our young players," head coach Doug Martin said. "I was really happy for Sam to go out on a great note as one of the program's best players. I'm proud of the guys. Five got NCAA Regional experience, and those five return next year. The future is bright for our program, and we have to stay hungry."
Jean's final putt was an emotional one, and it was fitting that raindrops fell for the first time only seconds later. It also marked the second-straight round with a lightning delay around lunchtime, but this one was close to an hour compared to three on Tuesday.
Jean's ninth-place finish marked the highest for a UC individual on the NCAA stage, and he added an eagle on No. 2 to help solidify his final collegiate round.
Ryan Ford (30), Ty Gingerich (36) and Rylan Wotherspoon (44) followed on the scorecard, with Wotherspoon adding an eagle as well. Gingerich rebounded with an eight-stroke improvement from Tuesday as well. William McDonald returned to the lineup and posted an even-72 after a 79 on Monday.
Wotherspoon's 71.69 stroke average ranks as the best among UC freshmen all-time, with Ford right behind at 71.78.
"The message to the team was that I have an empty spot in my stomach, because I felt we were one of the best five teams here," Martin said. "We have to learn and grow from it. Our goal from now until next year is that when we come back here, we punch our ticket."
Cincinnati Scores
T9. Sam Jean (203)
T30. Ryan Ford (209)
T36. Ty Gingerich (210)
T44. Rylan Wotherspoon (213)
75. William McDonald (151, two rounds)
Team Scores
1. Arizona State (805)
2. Stanford (807)
3. Virginia (815)
4. San Francisco (819)
T5. East Tennessee State (821, winning tiebreaker -1 to +2)
T5. Northwestern (821)
7. Oklahoma State (829)
8. Cincinnati (835)
9. UNC Greensboro (836)
T10. Oregon State (841)
T10. Long Beach State (841)
12. Kansas City (846)
13. Davidson (855)
14. Lehigh (880)
UC, making its first team appearance on this stage, fell 14 strokes shy of the No. 5 spot despite a 29-under 835. Arizona State, Stanford, Virginia, San Francisco and East Tennessee State all move on to Scottsdale for the national championship.
Thirteen of 14 teams were below-par, led by the Sun Devils at 59-under.
Sam Jean tied for ninth with a 13-under 203, two strokes shy of reaching Arizona as the regional's top performer from a non-qualifying team. The three-time All-Conference performer and 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-American left with a school-record 69.77 stroke average, besting Austin Squires' 70.62 mark in 2018-19. His 72.26 career mark also eclipsed Squires' 72.45 from 2015-19.
"It was an unbelievable experience for our young players," head coach Doug Martin said. "I was really happy for Sam to go out on a great note as one of the program's best players. I'm proud of the guys. Five got NCAA Regional experience, and those five return next year. The future is bright for our program, and we have to stay hungry."
Jean's final putt was an emotional one, and it was fitting that raindrops fell for the first time only seconds later. It also marked the second-straight round with a lightning delay around lunchtime, but this one was close to an hour compared to three on Tuesday.
Jean's ninth-place finish marked the highest for a UC individual on the NCAA stage, and he added an eagle on No. 2 to help solidify his final collegiate round.
Ryan Ford (30), Ty Gingerich (36) and Rylan Wotherspoon (44) followed on the scorecard, with Wotherspoon adding an eagle as well. Gingerich rebounded with an eight-stroke improvement from Tuesday as well. William McDonald returned to the lineup and posted an even-72 after a 79 on Monday.
Wotherspoon's 71.69 stroke average ranks as the best among UC freshmen all-time, with Ford right behind at 71.78.
"The message to the team was that I have an empty spot in my stomach, because I felt we were one of the best five teams here," Martin said. "We have to learn and grow from it. Our goal from now until next year is that when we come back here, we punch our ticket."
Cincinnati Scores
T9. Sam Jean (203)
T30. Ryan Ford (209)
T36. Ty Gingerich (210)
T44. Rylan Wotherspoon (213)
75. William McDonald (151, two rounds)
Team Scores
1. Arizona State (805)
2. Stanford (807)
3. Virginia (815)
4. San Francisco (819)
T5. East Tennessee State (821, winning tiebreaker -1 to +2)
T5. Northwestern (821)
7. Oklahoma State (829)
8. Cincinnati (835)
9. UNC Greensboro (836)
T10. Oregon State (841)
T10. Long Beach State (841)
12. Kansas City (846)
13. Davidson (855)
14. Lehigh (880)