Feb. 21, 2006

SAN ANTONIO - Senior Ryan Baca (Richmond, Texas) fired a final-round 3-under par 68 to set the Baylor 54-hole record at 14-under par 199 and capture his fourth career victory to lead the Bears' men's golf team to its second team title of the season Tuesday at the UTSA Intercollegiate at the 6,691-yard, par-71 Oak Hills Country Club.

Baca continues a streak of three straight individual titles for Baylor at the event, including his title two years ago in 2004 and junior teammate Jeremy Alcorn's victory in 2005. Baca continues to rank second and inch closer to the school's all-time leader in top-five and top-10 finishes, current PGA Tour professional and 2004 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Jimmy Walker. Baca now has 23 career top-10 finishes, three behind Walker, and 15 top-five finishes, four off the record.

Baca fired three straight sub-70 rounds with a career-low first-round 64, one off the school record, and a second-round 67 to claim the championship by 11 strokes over Illinois State's Miller (68-70-72=210). Nebraska's Drew Reynolds finished third at 211 (73-69-69), 13 strokes back, while Lamar teammates Dawie VanDerWalt (72-70-70) and Dusty Smith (69-70-73) finished 14 shots behind at 212. Baca breaks the old record of 200 (69-64-67) set by Adam Meyer at the 2001 Baylor Henry Griffitts Classic at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco.

Baylor also ran away with the team title by 13 strokes after leading by only three heading into the final round. The Bears finished with the best round of the tournament at 2-under par 282 for a total of 3-over par 855, their lowest 54-hole total of the season and tied for the eighth-lowest all-time. The Bears shot 6-over 290 in the first round and 1-under 283 in the second Monday. Louisiana-Monroe finished second at 868, Lamar was 15 shots behind in third at 870, Nebraska finished 20 strokes back at 875 and Illinois State rounded out the top five at 882. The Bears also won the title at the 2000 UTSA Intercollegiate.

Junior Jeremy Frye (Palestine, Texas) posted his second top-10 finish of the season and the fourth of his career, tying for eighth at 215 (75-69-71). Alcorn finished strong and finished in the top 15 for the 15th time in his career with a 12th-place showing. The defending champion in the event shot a final-round 1-under 70 for a total of 218 (75-73-70).

Sophomore Wes Williams (Franklin, Tenn.) tied for 24th at 223, firing a 73 to go with rounds of 76 and 74. Junior Chase Thomas (Dallas, Texas) tied for 43rd with a total of 227 (78-74-75). Redshirt freshman Bill Allcorn (Abilene, Texas), competing individually, tied for 50th with a total of 229 (76-78-75).

The Bears return to action Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 27-28, at the Lexus Naples Intercollegiate Invitational hosted by Peter Jacobsen at Hammock Bay Country Club in Naples, Fla.

Baylor Individual Results
1. Ryan Baca        64-67-68=199 (school record)
T8. Jeremy Frye     75-69-71=215
12. Jeremy Alcorn   75-73-70=218
T24. Wes Williams   76-74-73=223
T43. Chase Thomas   78-74-75=227
*T50. Bill Allcorn  76-78-75=229
*Competing Individually

Team Standings
1. Baylor                  290-283-282=855
2. Louisiana-Monroe        296-284-288=868
3. Lamar                   291-285-294=870
4. Nebraska                292-293-290=875
5. Illinois State          297-291-294=882
6. Wichita State           299-294-295=888
7. Sam Houston State       294-297-298=889
8. UTSA                    301-294-296=891
9. New Orleans             304-289-303=896
10. Rice                   297-298-302=897
11. Stephen F. Austin      297-297-306=900
12. College of Charleston  303-291-308=902
13. Marshall               309-299-299=907
14. UT-Pan American        303-300-306=909
15. DePaul                 313-302-310=925
16. Navy                   331-313-307=951
17. Northern Iowa          328-316-320=964