STOCKTON, Calif. — Led by a pair of under-par rounds, the Sacramento State men's golf team is in sixth place following the first day of the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational on Thursday at The Reserve. The Hornets finished 4-under par as a team and were led by a 69 from Mason Benbrook and a 70 from Jake Aberle.
 
Host Pacific and Colorado are tied for the team lead at 12-under par. The pair are followed by San Diego (10-under) in the top three. Utah Tech (8-under), UC San Diego (7-under) and Sacramento State are the only other teams in the 16-team field which are under par.
 
The Hornets had a strong start to their round as the team was 9-under through four holes. Aberle had the best start, birdying Nos. 10 and 12 and eagling the par-5 11^th to get to 4-under. Benbrook and Zach Mate each were 2-under during that span and Max Thomas was 1-under.
 
The remaining five holes on the back nine played tougher as the team was 7-over, leaving the team at 2-under at the midway point of its round. Sacramento State settled down on the front side of the course, recording five birdies with just three bogeys. Benbrook birdied Nos. 1 and 6 to get to 4-under before closing his round with a bogey on No. 7 and two pars. His 3-under par round score ties him for eighth place and is five strokes off the individual lead.
 
Aberle is tied for 15^th place while Zach Mate is 28^th and even. Aberle had seven pars and two bogeys on the front nine while Mate played those holes at 3-under with birdies on Nos. 1, 2 and 9.
 
Max Thomas and Zach Matzke each shot 73 during the round. Thomas finished his round with nine consecutive pars. Matzke had three birdies and four bogeys in his round.
 
The second round will take place on Friday morning. The Hornets will be paired with Utah Tech and UC San Diego off the first tee beginning at 8:24 a.m. The final threesome will tee off at 9 a.m.
 
VISIT STOCKTON PACIFIC INVITATIONAL
The Reserve | Stockton, Calif.
Par 72 | 7,189 Yards
 
Team Standings
T1. Colorado 276
T1. Pacific 276
3. San Diego 278
4. Utah Tech 280
5. UC San Diego 281
6. SACRAMENTO STATE 284
7. UC Riverside 288
T8. California Baptist 291
T8. CSUN 291
10. Cal State Fullerton 292
T11. North Dakota State 294
T11. UC Santa Barbara 294
13. Fresno State 295
14. Denver 297
15. Southern Utah 300
16. UC Irvine 304
17. Utah State 307
 
Individual Top Five
1. Ian Maspat, USD, 64
T2. Brandon Knight, COLO, 67
T2. Travis Robbie, PAC, 67
T2. Justin Bal, PAC, 67
T2. Justin Gill, UCSD, 67
 
Sacramento State Scores
T8. Mason Benbrook 69
T15. Jake Aberle 70
T28. Zach Mate 72
T39. Max Thomas 73
T39. Zach Matzke 73*
T62. Gabriel Smith 75
T90. Jai Bahl 70*
* Competing as an individual