As Ian Maspat lined up a birdie putt on the second playoff hole at the NCAA Regionals last week in Corvallis, Ore., he said he felt more excitement than pressure.
“Make this putt and my career at the University of San Diego and my teammates’ season goes on for another and biggest week of the year,” Maspat remembered thinking. “It was on.”
Maspat sank the birdie putt. Then teammate Cooper Humphreys did the same, and USD won the playoff and earned the 30th and final berth to the NCAA Division I Golf Championships. The tournament starts Friday at a familiar spot — the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad.
The Toreros don’t see themselves at the back end of the NCAA field.
“We always believe we can do it,” USD coach Evan Emerick said earlier this week. “And last week took that belief to the next level. We were playing for each other in a way I’ve seldom seen. I think we’re capable of doing a lot more at the NCAAs.”
“I see us making it all the way,” said Maspat, a senior from Scripps Ranch High School who is the veteran leader on a team that enters the week as the second-youngest squad in the NCAA finals. “No one expects us to do anything special. But I feel we’re an underrated team. And if it comes down to the last shot …”
Anything can happen … as it did last week for the Toreros in Oregon.
USD was buried deep in the regionals field after two rounds, with little chance of becoming one of the five teams transferring from the regionals to the championships.
The Toreros held a team meeting after the second round.
“The players had a lot of fire,” said freshman Reed Arnaldo, a La Costa Canyon High School grad. “Because we were far behind, we took a pledge just to play our best and not look at the scoreboard.”
Said Emerick: “The message was to play our game. We got going on the final round.”
Birdies started falling early in the round. All five Toreros were under par. USD climbed to as high as third in the standings before slipping back on the final hole to fall into a tie with Liberty for the final spot in the finals.
“Then,” Emerick said, “we rebounded for the second time in the same day.”
Maspat said the second playoff hole was “a special moment.”
“Sinking that putt was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” he said. “USD means the world to me. I couldn’t have drawn up the last three years to be any better. The program is getting better every year. I can see USD being a major golf school. And I’ve grown a lot as a person and a player because of USD.”
Maspat will be the lone senior representing USD at La Costa. You Seong Choi is a junior. Humphreys is a sophomore, and Arnaldo and Reid Piron are freshmen. Arnaldo and Choi led USD at the regionals, tying for 21st at 2-under 211. Piron and Maspat tied for 26th at even-par. Freshmen Brady Clark and Charlie Gillespie are the leading reserves.
Although La Costa is just up the road from USD, the Toreros will not have a home-course advantage. NCAA rules state that players can’t play or practice on the NCAA Championship course for a year ahead of the tournament … with one major exception.
Members are allowed to play. And Arnaldo has been a member at La Costa since 2019 and also played there as his high school’s home course.
“I’ve played the North Course, the NCAA Tournament course, at La Costa too many times to count,” said Arnaldo. “My buddies and I play it every day during the summer.
“That should be a little bit of an advantage. It’s definitely a course that you need to play a few times to understand. The greens are weird. They are firm with major slopes. It fits me well. It’s going to play around 7,500 yards. You have to be smart about the approach shots. It rewards good ball striking and course management. Chipping around the greens can be difficult.”
Said Emerick: “Reed certainly knows his way around the course. He’s one of our best. He can let guys know what to avoid.”
Every week, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the field. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com.