STOCKTON, Calif. – The Idaho Vandal men improved every round and closed the weekend with a sixth-place finish at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitation, highest among the seven Big West schools at the tournament.
 
"It was another nice step forward for the Vandals as we finish up our fall campaign," head coach David Nuhn said. "I thought we excelled in our main focus this week, which was remaining patient throughout each round. It was a full team effort this week."
 
Joe Sykes closed the tournament with a three-under 68 in the final round to finish in a tie for 16th-place overall.
 
Dalton Dean was two-under for the weekend to earn a T27th finish in a field that included quality teams from across the West, including ACC opponent Cal and Pac-12 opponent Washington State who finished just two strokes ahead of Idaho.
 
Josh McCartain closed the weekend at two-over for a T39 finish, Sam Johnson struggled down the stretch to finish six-over to tie for 65th. Matt McGann was nine-over after the first round but was one-under over the final two rounds to improve the team score on each day.
 
"Joe played great this week, Josh really stepped up coming back into the lineup, and props to Matt playing a great couple rounds for the team after a tough first round," Nuhn said. "Dalton was steady again and we can always count on Sam to count most of his rounds."
 
The tournament was the last of the fall for Idaho and the Vandals now enter the winter break before returning to action in February. The opportunity for improvement is not lost on Nuhn or his Vandals in what he calls, "improvement season."
 
"I do believe these guys are hungry for more, he said. "We know we have the skills to win these events. The improvement season ahead will prove valuable to our successes next spring."