Saint Mary's sophomore golfer Chadd Cocco (Bend, OR) paced the men's golf team to a fourth place finish in the UCLA Golf Rush Classic last week. Cocco was the top finisher for the Gaels as he posted a three round total of 210, which was 6-under par for the tournament. He finished in sole possession of fourth place in a field that included 180 players.

Cocco opened the tournament on Thursday with a 1-over par, 73, on the 7,258-yard, par 72 Champions Golf Course at the PGA of Southern California. Later that day, Cocco shot a 4-under par, 68, at the par 72, 7,303-yard Legends Golf Course. His two-round, day one totals had him at 3-under par and tied for eighth place in the individual tournament field. Cocco moved up four spots on Saturday when he posted a third round 69 (3-under par) on the Legends Course. He finished at 6-under for the tournament, which was five shots off the lead.

In a very strong tournament field, Cocco, who was the 2004 WCC Freshman of the Year in 2004, helped the Gaels to a fourth place team finish. Finishing ahead of the SMC were UCLA (-23), Stanford (-10) and UC Riverside (-7). In a team field that included 30 teams, Saint Mary's defeated four West Coast Conference teams, including 2004 WCC Champions Pepperdine, by nine strokes. The Gaels also defeated Santa Clara, San Francisco and Loyola Marymount.