CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. – The Chico State men's golf team won the stroke play title and Kelley Sullivan secured individual medalist honors at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships on the Zaharias Course (Par 71, 6826 yards) at Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry Tuesday. But the Wildcats' day ended in disappointment with a loss to Cal State Monterey Bay via tiebreaker in the medal/match play semifinals.
 
For the third straight season, the Wildcats won the stroke play portion of the event, holding on for a one-shot victory over Stanislaus State Tuesday morning. Colby Dean delivered two clutch birdie putts over his final three holes to break the tie.
 

Another 18 holes awaited to complete a grueling two days of golf spanning 72 holes. Chico State (ranked No. 23 in the nation and No. 3 in the West Region) was hoping to play 18 more for the conference crown on Wednesday. But for the third straight season, the Wildcats fell in the medal/match play semifinals.
 
In medal/match play, each teams' players are paired off to compete for the best 18-hole score. One point is awarded to the winner of each individual match and the first team to three points wins. If a head-to-head match ends up in a tie, each team is awarded a half point. If the teams tie, the combined score of all five players from each team is used to determine the winner.
 
The Wildcats got wins from Serge Kiriluk and another late rally from Dean (who trailed by a hole before winning the last two with a birdie and a par). Henning Hogmoen finished all-square (tied) in his match. But Sullivan and Cole Chavez were beaten, leaving the final total team score as the deciding factor. Cal State Monterey Bay won the tiebreaker by four shots.
 
It was a frustrating end to a special day for Sullivan, who not only earned his first collegiate victory, but also became just the second Chico State golfer to win the CCAA's individual title, joining former teammate Alistair Docherty.
 

The sophomore from Sammamish, Washington, held of Matthew Hedges of Cal State Monterey Bay for a one-shot win. He finished 1-over par, carding rounds of 70-69-75.
 
The Wildcats seem to be playing some of their best golf of the season at just the right time. The NCAA Championship West/South Central Regional is next up for them May 8-10 at Brookside Country Club in Stockton, and will determine which teams from the West will advance to the NCAA Championship finals May 22-26 at Reunion Resort in Orlando, Florida.
 
Sullivan has now finished among the top 11 in six of his seven events against Division II competition this season. Dean delivered his fourth straight top-20 finish against Division II competition, finishing tied for 16^th at 11-over par. Hogmoen, who tied for 20^th at 13-over par, now has two top-20 finishes in a row. Kiriluk and Chavez tied for 24^th at 15-over.
 
Sullivan's work on the course's par-4s keyed his victory. He shot 5-under par on the par 4s during stroke play, which was five shots better than anyone else in the field. He also tied for the tournament lead with 41 pars.