Sept. 26, 2006

MOSCOW, Idaho - Preston Otte fired three straight rounds of one-under par 70 to tie for third individually and lead Utah State's golf team to an eighth-place finish in the 12-team Vandal Fall Golf Classic.

Otte, a senior from Burley, Idaho, finished five shots off the pace as Boise State's Nick Travers shot a three-round 205, which included back-to-back 67s in the final two rounds.

Otte's third-place finish was the best by an Aggie since Cody Huot won the Peterson Von Elm Intercollegiate in the spring of 2004. It was also Otte's best collegiate finish as his previous best outing was a tie for ninth at the Cullum Intercollegiate last fall.

Idaho won its own tournament shooting an 853 team total, while British Columbia and Portland tied for second at 859. The Aggies finished at 881 with a team-best three-over par 287 in the second round.

Devin Daniels shot a 223 total for USU to tie for 37th, while Justin Copier tied for 44th at 225. Brandon Broadhead tied for 48th at 226 and Jake Blair tied for 60th at 232.

After shooting a team total of 299 on Monday's morning round, the Aggies responded with a 287 in the afternoon. Otte and Daniels each shot one-under par 70, while Copier added an even-par 71. The Aggies also counted Broadhead's 76 in the second round.

USU struggled on the final day as Otte was the only Aggie to shoot better than 74 as he recorded his third straight 70. Broadhead chipped in his best round of the tournament with a 74, while USU also counted a 75 from Blair and a 76 from Copier.

The Aggies will resume the fall portion of their season when the travel to Southern Utah for a Ryder-Cup style duel with the Thunderbirds Oct. 21-22. USU will then close fall play at the Countrywide Home Loans Invitational at Northridge, Calif. Oct. 30-31.

TEAM RESULTS
1. Idaho	287-283-283--853
2. British Columbia	281-284-294--859
2. Portland	294-280-285--859
4. Boise State	291-284-289--864
5. Weber State	293-283-292--868
Others
7. Utah Valley State	290-285-298--873
8. UTAH STATE	299-287-295--881
10. Dixie State	300-296-296--892

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Nick Travers, Boise State	71-67-67--205
2. Nic Van Vuuren, UVSC		71-66-72--209
3. Preston Otte, Utah State	70-70-70--210
3. Brett Jessen, Weber State	70-67-73--210
5. Trevor Loe, Gonzaga		68-69-74--211
5. Gabriel Wilson, Idaho		75-70-66--211

OTHER USU GOLFERS
T37. Devin Daniels	75-70-78--223
T44. Justin Copier	78-71-76--225
T48. Brandon Broadhead	76-76-74--226
T60. Jake Blair	79-78-75--232