Congratulations to California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB).

The 6th annual West Coast College  Open  held  at  the  CSUMB  campus  consisted of 5 teams with a total of 47 competitors. The competition was held  on  the  Oaks  Course and utilized the same layout played during the 2011 Disc Golf World Championships. Each school had teams competing in both  the  A  and  B pool. Humboldt State and CSUMB both had female athletes competing in their own singles division for the  women’s champion of the event.   The five schools participating included California State University Monterey Bay, University of Oregon, University of California Santa Cruz, Humboldt State University and California Baptist University.

The CSUMB Otters won the 2011 West Coast College Open (held on November 11th-13th) by defeating the previously unbeaten Oregon Ducks in three of five matches.  This was an outstanding victory for the Otters  to  win against the nation’s number one rated disc golf team.

While veteran members Brandon White and Danny Messina lead the way for the Otters, the victory would not have been possible without the consistent tournament play of new-comers Sean LeTour, Scott Heinz and Matthew de Ryk. 

The Oregon Ducks’ stellar play gave them the second place spot and left the other three schools to battle for third, and battle they did. University of California Santa Cruz defeated Humboldt State University in an exciting three hole playoff for the third place finish. This victory gave them an automatic seed into the 2012 Collegiate Disc Golf Championships held in North Augusta, South Carolina.

Humboldt State University is definitely a school to keep your eye on. They not only went undefeated in the B Pool to claim first in this division, but female competitor, Kelly Muth, of Humboldt State won the women’s competition by  beating CSUMB’s Haley McArtor in three straight matches.  Humboldt State is not a school to ignore. They are hoping for an invitation to the 2012 Collegiate Championship and their play this weekend should prove they deserve one.

Sam Bahlenhorst of CSUMB, won the putting contest with a breath-taking 45 ft putt. Bahlenhorst is the first West Coast College Open putting Champion.  Another noteworthy performance from the event was  the superb play of Fumihide Kohori, a Japanese exchange student at CSUMB who began playing  disc golf less than three months ago and is already driving well over 300 ft.

All the competitors this weekend showed the true definition of the word “team”.  For anyone who has never seen disc golf played on the  collegiate level, these are must see or must play (if you are eligible)events.   The team spirit and camaraderie at collegiate tournaments are unattainable at any other level of the game. To put it simply, these “kids” have heart.


Final Standings:
Pool A
1. California State University Monterey Bay
2. University of Oregon
3. University of California Santa Cruz
4. Humboldt State University
5. California Baptist University

B Pool
1. Humboldt State University
2. California State University Monterey Bay
3. University of California Santa Cruz
4. University of Oregon

Women
1. Kelly Muth
2. Haley McArtor