BRADENTON, Fla. – Senior Eric Sugimoto and sophomore teammate Rico Hoey haven’t forgotten the embarrassment they felt at finishing in last place of the stroke-play portion of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Nor has their coach.
“We got our faces kicked in and that stunk,” University of Southern California coach Chris Zambri said.
So it was only fitting that as the two remaining players from last year’s Trojans squad, Sugimoto and Hoey sparked a 3 ½ - 1 ½ come-from-behind victory over the No.1-ranked University of Illinois in the semifinals of match play.
“Rico and I obviously have a chip on our shoulder after finishing last,” Sugimoto said.