Oct. 31, 2011

SAN MARTIN, Calif. - Washington State freshman Michael Anderson finished tied for 20th place after the opening round of the Gifford Collegiate at CordeValle, hosted by UCLA.

Anderson leads the Cougars after the first of three rounds with a 72 (+1). Junior teammate Hank Frame got his second Eagle of the season, to finish the day in a tie for 25th with Cougar senior Trent Sanders (73, +2). Washington State posted a team score of 378 (+23), five shots back of the closest competition, Coastal Carolina.

"Michael is playing great golf. Trent and Hank are too. They are showing real solid play on the course," stated Garrett Clegg, first year Cougar head coach. "But in order to move up we all need to compete, all of us. We need to fight for everything. Fight for every stroke."

Other Cougars competing are senior Branden Dalton, tied for 64th (79, +8), sophomore Jarrett Foote 70th (81, +10) and senior Paul Mitzel 72nd (85, +14).

Southern California leads the field which includes seven nationally ranked teams, including four top 10 teams: Oregon, Washington, Stanford and UCLA.

The second round is slated to begin Tuesday, with the final round of competition on Wednesday.