2001-02 Archives

Hillpot Posts a Two-Over 74, Finishes in a tie for 73rd at 10-Over
(May 19, 2002) Freshman Brandon Hillpot shot a two-over 74 in the third round of the NCAA Western Regional Championship at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hillpot moved to a tie for 73rd out of 141 golfers. He finished with a three round total of 226 and moved up significantly each of the last two days after getting off to a slow start in the opening round.
The tournament was delayed by strong winds with about a dozen golfers still on the course.
The University of New Mexico and Washington tied for the top spot with eight-over 872's. Arizona's Ricky Barnes and Minnesota's Justin Smith tied for the top spot individually, with Smith shooting a four-under 68 to rally from second to tie for the lead.

Hillpot Shoots One-over in Second Round at Western Regional
(May 17, 2002) After a rough first day, freshman Brandon Hillpot rebounded to shoot a one-over 73 in the second round of the NCAA Western Regional Championship at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hillpot moved to a tie for 82nd out of 141 golfers.
Hillpot will return to action tomorrow in group 27 with a tee time of 9:10 AM local time.
Ricky Barnes from Arizona is the leader at 7-under 137, good for a five shot lead.

Hillpot Shoots 7-over in First Round at Western Regional
(May 16, 2002) Freshman Brandon Hillpot shot an opening round 7-over 79 at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hillpot is currently tied for 117th out of 141 golfers.
Hillpot will return to action tomorrow in group 11 with a tee time of 9:00 AM local time.
Jason Hartwick from the University of Texas is the leader at 4-under 68, good for a one shot lead. Texas also leads the team competition at 3-under 285, a four shot lead over San Diego State University.

Hillpot Selected for NCAA West Regional
(May 6, 2002) UC Riverside freshman golfer Brandon Hillpot (Colton HS, Colton, CA) has been selected to play in the 2002 NCAA West Regional May 16-18 in Albuquerque, NM.
Hillpot is the first individual to reach a NCAA Division I Championship event since the Highlanders' move to Division I last Fall.
"We have been working all year for this. It is really honor to be selected as an individual by the NCAA," Head Coach Paul Hjulberg said. He had the best scoring average on the team and we worked diligently to get his name on the selection list.
Hillpot led the Highlanders with an average score of 72.44 and a low round of 67. He posted a win at the Countrywide Home Loans Intercollegiate at Wood Ranch Golf Club on Oct. 15-16, besting a field of 120 by shooting an eight under 208 over three rounds. He had four top-five finishes on the season. Following the season he was named First Team All Big West.
Hillpot led an outstanding freshman class that finished the season ranked first in the nation in the Golfstat.com Freshman Impact Rankings. The Highlanders ran away with the award with a "relative strength" of 571.912, better than 130 points more than second place Illinois (440.790).
The tournament will be held on the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico. The course is par 72, 7,368 yards.

Hillpot Named First Team All-Conference
(April 25, 2002) The 2002 Big West Men's Golf Team was announced on Wednesday and headlining the group was freshman Brandon Hillpot named First Team All-Big West.
Freshman Brendan Steele and junior Dusty Keen were named Second Team All-Big West.

UCR Finishes 5th at Big West Championship
(April 24, 2002) The UC Riverside Highlanders struggled on the final day of the Big West Conference Championship at Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, falling from a tie for fourth place to fifth, 33 shots behind the winner, UC Irvine.
The Highlanders opened the day in a tie for fourth place, only two shots back of second place, but had the second-worst final day total of 303 to drop them to fifth.
UC Irvine's Ryan Armstrong was the individual winner with a seven-under 209. Armstrong won a three player playoff to take the title.
Brandon Hillpot was the top UCR finisher, coming in 9th with a total of 218, nine shots behind the winner. Brendan Steele finished tied for 11th at four-over 220 and Cameron Nelson tied for 18th at eight-over 224.
UCR Leaderboard
5 UC Riverside     293 290 303 886
T 9 Brandon Hillpot 71  72  75 218
T11 Brendan Steele  71  73  76 220
T18 Cameron Nelson  76  74  74 224
T26 Dusty Keen      79  71  78 228
T44 Ruben Stewart   75  81  85 241 

Snow Cancels Tournament
(April 14, 2002) The George Von Elm Invitational at the Blackfoot Golf Course in Idaho has been cancelled due to snow. There will not be a make-up date.

Steele, Highlanders Win Fidelity National Title Championship
(April 9, 2002) Led by medallist Brendan Steele's three day, seven under score of 209, the UC Riverside Highlanders cruised to a 23-shot win over a six team field at the Fidelity National Title Championship at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande, CA on Tuesday.
Steele opened the day in third place with a two day total of 139, including tying for the best round on day two with a four-under 68, then went out and shot a two-under 70 to beat Boise State's Graham DeLeat, who opened the day tied for first.
The win was his third of the year.
Dusty Keen finished fourth for the Highlanders, shooting a one-under 215, while Brandon Hillpot was fifth, two shots back with a one-over 217.
The Highlanders were the only team to shoot in the 280's each of the three rounds of the tournament and the only squad to not shoot in the 300's on the final day.
UCR Leaderboard
1 UC Riverside     283 288 289 860
1 Brendan Steele    71  68  70 209
4 Dusty Keen        71  73  71 215
5 Brandon Hillpot   70  73  74 217
T 10 Cameron Nelson 71  77  74 222
T 13 Eric Riehle    73  74  79 226
33 Dom Nahas        80  83  84 247

Highlanders Finish Fifth at UCI Anteater Invite in Calimesa
(March 26, 2002) The UC Riverside Highlanders struggled on the final day of the UC Irvine Anteater Invitational, falling from third place to fifth, 37 shots behind the winner, St. John's University.
The Highlanders opened the day at the Southern California PGA Champions Course in third place, but had the second-worst final day total of 313 to drop them to fifth.
Santa Clara's Matt Klenz was the individual winner with a two-over 218. Klenz won a six player playoff to take the title.
Brendan Steele was the top UCR finisher, coming in 14th with a total of 224, six shots behind the winner. Brandon Hillpot and Cameron Nelson tied for 20th with five other golfers at 226.
UCR Leaderboard
5 UC Riverside      295 293 313 901
T 14 Brendan Steele  73  76  75 224
T 20 Brandon Hillpot 78  68  80 226
T 20 Cameron Nelson  69  76  81 226
T 33 Dusty Keen      78  73  77 228
T 42 Ruben Stewart   77  73  80 230

Steele, Highlanders Win Sac. State Invitational
(March 14, 2002) Brendan Steele won individual honors, leading the Highlanders to a four-shot win at the Sacramento State Invitational at Ranchero Murrieta CC.
Steele shot a even par-72 in the final round to finish one stroke ahead of Dan Warburton of Cal State Bakersfield. He had a low round of 68 in the opening round of play.
Cameron Nelson was in a four-way tie for third at 217 after starting the day in a tie for first at 142. Brandon Hillpot was 10th with a score of 219.
The Highlanders shot a three round total of 871, seven strokes over par and four strokes ahead of second place Cal State Stanislaus.
UCR Leaderboard
UC Riverside        284 291 296 871
1 Brendan Steele     68  75  72 215
T 3 Cameron Nelson   71  71  75 217
T 10 Brandon Hillpot 74  73  72 219
13 Dusty Keen        71  72  77 220
T 24 Eric Riehle     74  75  77 226

Highlanders 12th at Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Open
(March 8, 2001) Brandon Hillpot and Dusty Keen tied for the lowest total for the Highlanders' lowest total scores at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Tournament at the La Purisima Golf Course in Santa Barbara.
San Diego State won the tournament with an outstanding four player team score of 866, just two over par, on a course where most touring pros would have a difficult time shooting even. Fresno State finished second, twelve strokes behind the Aztecs, at 878. Pacific's Jason Higton took the individual title, scoring four under par with a three round score of 212 on the par 72 course. San Diego's John Lieber and Mark Warman tied for second at minus two.
Hillpot and Keen finished at 8-over 224, finishing tied for 27th. Brendan Steele finished 59th with a 14-over 230, Eric Riehle finished 76th with 17-over 233, and Cameron Nelson was 79th at 18-over 235.
The Highlanders finished at 906, two shots behind USF and four shots out of eighth.
UCR Leaderboard
12 UC Riverside     297 300 309 906
T 27 Brandon Hillpot 76  75  73 224
T 27 Dusty Keen      76  70  78 224
T 59 Brendan Steele  73  78  79 230
T 76 Eric Riehle     72  78  83 233
T 79 Cameron Nelson  78  77  79 234

Highlanders Finish Third at 49er Classic
(Nov. 9, 2001) Brandon Hillpot shot a four-under final-round 67 to propel him into fourth place and help the Highlanders to a third place finish at the 49er Collegiate Classic at the Zaharias Golf Club in Industry, CA Friday.
Hillpot, who entered the day tied for 14th five shots back, tied with Steve Shuert of TCU with the low score of the day. Brendan Steele was 12th overall with a nine-over 222. Dusty Keen rounded out the top three for the Highlanders with a 10-over 223.
As a team the Highlanders finished with a three-round total of 883, 31-over par and 10 shots behind second place University of Toledo and 24 behind winner TCU. The Highlanders finished ahead of several excellent schools, including UCLA, UC Irvine, Long Beach State, Arizona and Campbell University.
Team Leaderboard
# School       Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total +/-
1 TCU          288   288   285    861   +9
2 Toledo       291   286   296    873 +21
3 UC Riverside 297   294   292    883 +31
4 UCLA         293   281   310    884 +32
5 UC Irvine    297   298   295    890 +38
Individual Leaderboard
# School               Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total +/-
1 Alan Murray (Toledo)  64    70    74    208 -5
2 Steve Shuert (TCU)    71    71    67    209 -4
3 Bret Guetz (TCU)      71    71    71    213 E
4 Brandon Hillpot (UCR) 74    73    67    214 +1

Steele Wins Individual Playoff but CSUB Comes Back to Beat Highlanders at Elco Invitational
(October 30, 2001) The No. 1 ranked Cal State Bakersfield golf team overcame a three-stroke deficit Tuesday morning to capture its second consecutive Elco, Inc. Invitational championship at Stockdale Country Club in Bakersfield.
UCR got solid play from its top two golfers, with Brendan Steele shooting 72 and Brandon Hillpot carding an even-par 71. The Highlanders faltered at the bottom of their lineup, where the final three golfers combined to shoot 11-over on the back nine to help CSUB make up its three-stroke deficit en route to the six-stroke win.
The Highlanders weren't shutout of the trophy hunt, however, as Hillpot overcame a bogey on 17 to par 18 and birdie the first playoff hole to win medallist honors. Mike Mendoza of Cal State Northridge, the co-leader with Steele after 36 holes, had a chance to win in regulation but missed a five-foot par putt on 18. Fresno State’s Ian Nelson caught fire Tuesday, carding six-birdies en route to a tournament-best 66 to join the playoff with Steele and Mendoza. Steele birdied the first playoff hole while Nelson parred and Mendoza bogied to set the top three places.
Team Leaderboard
# School                Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total +/-
1 CS BAKERSFIELD        284 291 288 863 +11
2 UC Riverside          287 285 297 869 +17
3 Fresno State          303 289 293 885 +33
4 Pt. Loma Nazarene     305 290 292 887 +35
Cal Poly                298 302 287 887 +35
6 CS Northridge         291 298 302 891 +39
7 CS San Bernardino     287 308 299 894 +42
8 St. Martin's (Wash.)  291 307 302 900 +48
9 Chico State           301 303 301 905 +53
  Santa Clara           307 298 300 905 +53
11 Grand Canyon         300 306 302 908 +56
12 UC San Diego         301 306 302 909 +57
Sacramento State        310 296 303 909 +57
14 CS San Marcos        303 306 302 911 +59
15 The Master's Coll.   307 310 312 929 +77

Individual Leaderboard
# School              Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total +/–
1 1Brendan Steele (UCR) 72   67    72    211 -2
2Ian Nelson (FSU)       74   71    66    211 -2
3Mike Mendoza (CSN)     71   68    72    211 -2
4 Mike Plate (CSB)      69   74    69    212 -1
5 Brandon Hillpot (UCR) 73   71    71    215 +2
Bill Hurwitz (SAC)      73   67    75    215 +2
7 Zack Spinuzzi (SAC)   72   72    72    216 +3
8 Ryan Higton (TMC)     71   76    70    217 +4
Matt Klenz (SCU)        75   70    72    217 +4
10 Mike Applegate (CSB) 73   70    75    218 +5
Tommy Medina (GCU)      74   72    72    218 +5
Ryan Gale (UCSD)        73   73    72    218 +5
Dusty Keen (UCR)        68   73    77    218 +5
Number in front of name indicates finish in one-hole playoff

Hillpot Finishes 1st, Highlanders Finish 5th At Northridge Tourney
Freshman Brandon Hillpot took home first place honors with an eight-under 208 over the three rounds, at the Countrywide Home Loans Intercollegiate Tourney at the Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, CA. Hillpot shot 69 in rounds one and three. In the middle round, he shot 70.
As a team, the Highlanders shot 891 for fifth place, 20 shots behind first place UC Irvine and six behind fourth place Long Beach State. Freshman Brendan Steele was second for the Highlanders and tied for 45th overall with a total of 227.
UCR results are listed below.
5 UC Riverside     304 295 292 891
1 Brandon Hillpot   69  70  69 208
T 45 Brendan Steele 72  79  76 227
T 56 C.J. Nelson    81  74  74 229
T 75 Eric Riehle    83  77  73 233
T 87 Dusty Keen     82  74  79 235

Highlanders Finish Sixth at Vandal Fall Classic
The UC Riverside Men's Golf team struggled in it's final round Tuesday, but still managed a sixth place finish in their debut at the Vandal Fall Classic at the Idaho Golf Club in Moscow, ID. As a team the Highlanders shot 873, 34 shots behind first place Washington State and 12 behind fifth place Western Washington.
Freshman Brandon Hillpot led the Highlanders with a two-over 215 over the three rounds, good for 18th place overall. He shot 70 in each of the first two rounds, then finished with a four-over 75 on Tuesday. Freshman Brendan Steele was second for the Highlanders and 28th overall, three shots back at 218. His first round 66 was tied for the top 18-hole performance of the tournament.
UCR results are listed below.
6 UC Riverside      278 286 309 873
T 18 Brandon Hillpot 70 70 75 215
T 28 Brendan Steele  66 71 81 218
T 49 Ruben Stewart   75 71 77 223
T 66 Dusty Keen      69 74 84 227
T 74 Cameron Nelson  73 80 76 229

Re-born UC Riverside Men's Golf Team Signs Three to National Letters of Intent
UC Riverside head men's golf coach Paul Hjulberg announced the signing of three high school seniors to national letters of intent.
Brendan Steele (Idyllwild, CA - Hemet HS) - High school stroke average of 35.8. . .Helped his team to the Sunkist League Championship in 1999 and 2000, winning the individual league championship each year... finished fifth at the SCGA State Finals in 2000. . . won the 2000 Titan Invitational with a 70 and the International with a five-under 211 over three rounds. . . won the Temeku Junior Invitational with a 66. . . made cut at Junior World with an opening round of 69 at Torrey Pines. . . won five other tournaments during the Summer of 2000... finished in a tie for sixth at the AJGA event at Twelve Bridges in Sacramento. . . has a 4.08 GPA through his junior year.
Brandon Hillpot (Colton, CA - Colton HS) - High school stroke average of 35.2. . . was the 1999-2000 San Andreas League Champion. . . Qualified for USGA Junior Amateur (top junior tournament in US), making the 36-hole qualifying to match play before being eliminated. . . owns a 4.33 GPA through his junior year. . . Colton High Business Recognition Award and Colton High English Award.
Cameron "C.J." Nelson (Rialto, CA - Aquinas HS) - High School stroke average of 37.0. . . named Citrus League MVP in 1999 and 2000. . . 2000 Desert Junior Player of the Year. . . five letter athlete, including golf, soccer, basketball, baseball and cross-country. . . won Desert Willow Junior Tournament with a 72. . . second place in Desert Tournament of Champions. . . won Anaheim City Junior Championship. . . owns a 3.8 GPA through his junior year and is a member of the honor roll.
In addition, Coach Hjulberg announced that he has invited two currently enrolled UCR students to join the team, juniors Dusty Keen (North HS/Cal Baptist) and Ruben Stewart (Santiago HS/Texas Southern).
The UCR golf program will return in the fall of 2001 after having been dropped in the mid-1980's due to budget restrictions.

UCR Tabs Former Canyon Crest Pro Paul Hjulberg as Director of Men's and Women's Golf
The University of California, Riverside has hired former Canyon Crest Country Club Golf Professional Paul Hjulberg as director of men's and women's golf, Director of Athletics Stan Morrison announced Tuesday.
"We are delighted with the appointment of Paul Hjulberg to the Director of Men's and Women's Golf at UCR. His commitment to young people, strong ties to the community and his ambition to build our golf program from the ground up made him an attractive and popular choice for the position," Morrison said.
"I am honored to be selected and I'm excited to start these two programs at UC Riverside," Hjulberg said. "I think a strong foundation is there and it won't be long before we are competitive."
Men's and women's golf at UCR are scheduled to begin play during the 2001-2002 academic year, the Highlander's first at the NCAA Division I level and their first in the Big West Conference. Hjulberg, who will work full-time and will oversee both teams, will begin July 1 and will have over 14 months to recruit his first team.
"We are particularly impressed with Paul's intimate knowledge of junior golf in Southern California because that will serve as the foundation for his recruiting," Morrison added. "I know his friends and colleagues in the golfing profession are thrilled that Paul has this unique opportunity."
Although Hjulberg (pronounced "jewel-berg") has no prior college coaching experience, he has worked as a golf professional at Canyon Crest Country Club since 1980. He was responsible for the total golf operations and has given over 5,000 lessons to golfers of all levels. He has also planned and coordinated 30-plus member tournaments each year, 20-plus outings per year, and an annual summer junior golf program for 60+ junior athletes.
"The last couple of years I have been looking for a change, but I wanted to stay in golf," Hjulberg said. "I think Riverside is a good fit for me right now. I have a lot of experience in golf and I understand the juniors system in Southern California. We'll be looking for good, well-rounded kids who are excellent golfers, but who also want to graduate from college."
In 1998 he was honored by the San Bernardino-Riverside Chapter PGA with the Bill Strausbaugh Award for Club Relations. He has competed in over 125 professional events, winning the PGA Section Pro-President in 1985 and again in 1996, and the 1981 PGA Chapter Four Ball Championship.
A graduate of Palos Verdes High School in 1974, Hjulberg attended and played golf at Long Beach City College from 1975-77 and at Utah State University from 1977-1979. He graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Personnel and Industrial Relations. Since graduating he has completed 132 hours of continuing education, including seminars on golf instruction, strategic planning, goal setting, budgeting, forecasting, expense control, personnel management, tournament/event coordination and merchandising.
Hjulberg has been a member of the PGA since 1983 and has held several offices, including being a member of the San Bernardino - Riverside Chapter PGA Board since 1996. He has also served as PGA Chapter Junior Golf Chairman in 2000 and as PGA Chapter President and PGA Section Board member in 1999.
Located in the city of Riverside, UCR has 12,000 students and was recently selected as the most beautiful UC campus. Long a Division II power, the Highlanders just concluded their first year of transition to NCAA Division I. They will join the Big West Conference in 2001-2002. Other members of the conference include UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the University of the Pacific, Utah State University, and Idaho.