This past weekend the Bears’ winning streak was snapped, coming in second to UNLV in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. This was an unexpected result; No. 1 Cal defeated UNLV in the former’s own tournament almost a month ago in Las Vegas.

The Bears finished both Friday and Saturday in the fourth spot, finding it difficult to find any sense of rhythm. The team normally gets off to a slow start, rallying the into the top rank in the subsequent days, but this weekend Cal could not recover in such a fashion.

Max Homa started off Friday shooting four-under par on the first 14 holes. The 15th hole was the beginning of his problems, where he scored a bogey. On the par-three 16th hole, Homa shot a quadruple bogey, accumulating seven strokes. The poor shooting performance damaged the Bears’ scoring; Homa eventually finished with two-over par.

No. 1 Michael Kim ended the first day of the tournament ranked sixth, five shots behind the leader Nick Chianello of Oregon State. He only scored two bogeys, but his six pars and single birdie were not enough to propel him into the top five.

Freshman James Yoon, playing in his first competitive tournament at Cal, ended Friday ranked 28th with a score of one over par.  He had two birdies on holes 10 and 14, but his three bogies held him back.

Some of the Bears’ best performances of the weekend came on Saturday, but they were only able to climb to 4th place.

Brandon Hagy showed up for Cal, finishing the day six under-par. This marked the best of the best round of the day for an individual, as well as his second-best career performance. His bogey free execution moved him up a total of nine spots to third place overall, just three shots shy of the leader.

However, Hagy’s glimmer of light was not enough to pull Cal up out of the rut.

Michael Kim fell back two spots from sixth to eighth. His three birdies were cancelled out by an equal amount of bogies, leaving him with an even score. Yoon and Joel Stalter also fell back multiple spots, ending day two on a negative note for the Bears.

Going into Sunday, Cal was tied for fourth with UNLV. Unfortunately, the Bears would not be able to surpass their competitors from Las Vegas. UNLV finished the tournament in first place, Cal trailing by a single point.

UNLV closed the nail-biter tournament with a score of 843. Cal finished just one stroke behind.

No. 30 Brandon Hagy tied for second place with No. 31 Scott Fernandez with a score of 203, just one point behind the constant individual leader Nick Chianello.

Just two victories short of stealing the unofficial NCAA record of 10 tournament wins in a season from Oklahoma State, the Bears were disappointed by their loss. However, they still have four opportunities to claim this title.

Overall, Cal has won 14 of its last 23 tournaments dating back to the 2011-12 season.  The Bears have placed in the top five of all 23.

Alexa Cammarano covers men’s golf. Contact her at acammarano@dailycal.org

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After a long four week break since their last win at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas, Cal is headed to the Karsten Golf Course starting on Friday.

“There’s always a little edge after taking a break like this.  They know what they need to do.  We aren’t concerned about that at all; we think they’ll be absolutely ready,” Coach Steve Desimone commented regarding the long break between tournaments.

But Desimone is not too worried of the month-long rust that may have piled.

“We are the reigning champions.  I like the way we set up the golf course with our experience,” Desimone said. “If we make good decisions on the golf course and stay with the game plan we should be fine.”

The team will be one short of its usual line up this weekend.  Michael Weaver will be absent from the two remaining events of the regular season because he was invited to play in the Masters as one of six amateurs invited to the tournament.

Freshmen James Yoon will be taking his place in his very first competition.

“To be very honest, of course I’m worried.  When we have all five together, we are the best team in the country.  James is a freshman and has no experience in competition but he has played very well,” Desimone said.

After horrible weather conditions at the last tournaments in Hawaii and Las Vegas, the Bears are excited to about the forecast for this weekend.  During the days, it will be in the low 90s with some wind and no chance of rain.

With the weather at ease, it would be easier for top players like Michael Kim, ranked no. 1 by Golfweek and Golfstat, to be effectively.  Kim this season has been consistently on the top of the Haskins Award watch list. Nicknamed the Heisman of golf, the Haskins Award is an honor that is granted to the nation’s most outstanding player in men’s collegiate golf.

“Some of the names that have won that award are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson,” Kim said.  “Just to have my name on that list with them would be a huge honor.

With only five events remaining, the Bears will try to make every event count.  From here on out, they have their eyes set on the ultimate prize.

“The big prize is the NCAA championship,” Desimone said. “If we win that on June 2nd, everything else pales in comparison.”

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In the three-day tournament last weekend, Kim had a total of 14 birdies on Saturday, moving him from being tied at 51st to being tied for seventh.  Ranked No. 1 in the nation by Golfweek, he broke a school record for the number of consecutive wins, finishing the tournament in a four-way tie for first place.

“The course really fit our games well,” said coach Steve Desimone. “We felt comfortable about it.”

No. 1 Cal closed the tournament in first place with a 13-stroke lead. This was its eighth of nine away tournament victories.

“I’m running out of superlatives for these guys,” Desimone said. “It’s really the best problem to have.”

UNLV hosted 13 of the top 14 collegiate golf teams this weekend, including Cal’s Bay Area rival, Stanford. The Cardinal were the only team that was able to keep up with the Bears’ talented players.

Stanford was one shot behind Cal on Friday and was the only other team to break par due to unfriendly weather conditions. The tournament was put on hold for 90 minutes because of the severity of the storm.

“We got slammed by rain,” Desimone said. “It was just coming down in buckets. It was a merciful delay.I’m not sure any of us would be alive if they hadn’t called us off the field.”

Rain or shine, all five of Cal’s players finished the tournament in the top 11. Max Homa finished in a four-way tie for seventh, while Brandon Hagy, Joel Stalter and Michael Weaver finished in a five-way tie for 11th.

On Friday and Saturday, Homa had even par rounds, evening out his multiple birdies and bogeys. Homa moved up five positions on Sunday, boasting an eagle on a 40-foot putt on the 13th hole.

Hagy started the team off strong on Friday, playing impressively under the harsh weather conditions. He began with a three-under-par round of 69. With a total of 11 birdies, split up by two pars, and one lone bogey at the end, Hagy finished tied for third on Friday.

Hagy fell nine spots on Saturday to 12th. But on Sunday, Hagy climbed up one spot and played the best of the three Bears tied for 11th..

The Bears claimed their 14th of 22 wins since last fall with this tournament. Cal will take a break until April for the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational.

Alexa Cammarano covers men’s golf. Contact her at acammarano@dailycal.org

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This momentum carried through to Tuesday, when he finished the tournament with a 37-stroke lead.

With the conclusion of the tournament, he tied a school record of three consecutive victories. In total, Kim held a team high of 15 birdies, redeeming his two earlier bogeys.

No. 1 Cal men’s golf team’s junior Brandon Hagy (-10) and junior Michael Weaver took second and third places, respectively, pushing the Bears into first place.

“My favorite moment was walking to my ball on 18 green, just knowing that my team won and I won,” Kim said. “In the last two tournaments that I won, I still had a lot of work to do.”

Kim, Hagy and Weaver’s performances marked the second consecutive tournament in which the Bears held the first, second and third spots. The trio had never accomplished this feat before.

Cal has won seven of its last eight away tournaments. In total, it won 13 of 22 tournaments since the fall of 2011 and finished in the top five in every other event.

“We have made it look really easy out there, almost too easy,” Cal coach Steve Desimone said. “We’ve been holding down the No. 1 spot for five-plus months now. That’s a lot of baggage to carry.”

The Bears also benefitted from playing at the Belmont Country Club at Fresno, Calif.

“It’s an interesting course,” Desimone said. “It’s short and tactical, so you have to play the ball both ways. You have to hit the ball with some height, which was very beneficial, especially for Weaver and Hagy.”

The Bear’s versatility as a team is apparent in their leader boards. Junior Joel Stalter and senior Max Homa, along with Weaver, claimed the top three spots of the previous tournament at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. This week, Kim and Hagy dominated the field.

Max Homa finished 22nd in the tournament, with a final score of -1. By Tuesday, he reduced his number of bogeys to one and had a total of 10 birdies.

“It is competitive between us, but it is a good thing,” Stalter said. “We push each other to achieve our goals.”

Stalter, currently ranked as the No.1 player in the nation by Golfstat and No. 2 by Golfweek, didn’t have as great of a game as last week. He birdied seven holes on Monday, but three bogeys and one double-bogey left him with a score of -2.

On Tuesday, Stalter had only one bogey. He finished the day with a final score of -6 after 10 pars and five birdies.

“Some weeks you have it, and some weeks you don’t,” Desimone said. “That’s what’s so amazing about how consistent it has been.

“We have five or six players that are virtually interchangeable,” Desimone added. “When you have five players that are ranked in the top 15 in the nation for youth, you know that at any time, any of them can take it deep and get it going. It’s a real luxury.”

Alexa Cammarano covers men’s golf. Contact her at acammarano@dailycal.org

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But more importantly, Kim pictures himself winning against his golf idol, Tiger Woods.

“I grew up watching Tiger Woods win all those tournaments,” the sophomore says. “He is the most important reason why I’m playing golf as hard as I am now. Just knowing that he’s talented beyond anyone I’ve ever seen but still works so hard inspired me.”

Kim is not kidding around in believing he can win the Masters. His self-confidence is unwavering. As a golfer, he has little interest in anything but winning.

Throughout his golf career, Kim has carried a chip on his shoulder. He has been neglected by many, and he is ready to be done with it.

Beating Tiger Woods at the Masters would make it impossible for anyone to ignore him any longer.

“I never really liked the underdog role much,” Kim says.

In high school, many college coaches overlooked Kim.  Coaches worried that at only 120 pounds, Kim would not be even strong enough to drive the ball off of the tee. He was barely recruited out of college, ignored by many of the country’s top programs.

Now, Kim is the No. 2 individual golfer in the country and the Bears are No. 1 after being written off as the No. 24 ranked team last year.

But he has not forgotten those who did not think he could perform at the collegiate level.

When Kim was eight, his dad brought him to a driving range for the very first time. As a small kid, Kim’s size limited his ability to excel in other physical activities, especially in contact sports.

But golf was different. Kim showed promise, especially with his short game, which Cal head coach Steve Desimone has called “one of the best in Cal history.” The kid that emigrated from Seoul, South Korea a year ago displayed enough natural talent to inspire him to stick with it.

“For me, if you’re not good at it, I’m not going to do it,” Kim says.

When he was 13, Kim began playing in amateur golf tournaments. In two years, he had started playing in more competitive tournaments and was contributing to his Torrey Pines High School team, one of the best in the state.

In junior year of high school, Kim had his best golf season yet. But Kim’s recruiting mailbox remained empty — he only received offers from four schools, including Cal. After committing to Cal because of its academic reputation, Kim helped his high school team win the California State Championship his senior year.

Desimone took a chance on Kim when few others did. He had a feeling that the recruit had the necessary talent to make it in the next level. Kim just needed to get bigger and stronger.

“I’ve been always been a big believer that guys that have a passion and understanding of the game can be successful in college,” Desimone said. “I knew he would add some weight and distance, which he has. We’re sure glad to have him.”

Kim continues to be motivated by the coaches that did not believe that he was capable of competing at the collegiate level. This fall, the Bears defeated No. 2 Texas twice and No. 3 Alabama once — both golf powerhouses who snubbed Kim in high school.

Kim revelled in every minute of the victories.

“When we beat teams like Texas and Alabama, it’s definitely redemption on the inside,” he says. “It’s kind of telling everybody that we are just as good as they are. It’s more motivation for us to beat those teams.”

Coming into his freshman year, Kim was joining a Cal team that was overlooked by many. It was a position that he was grudgingly used to being in.

He made it a point to be on the golf course as much as possible, dedicated to proving his naysayers wrong. His hard work is a point of pride for Kim.

“If I could say anything to every golf team in the country,” he says. “It would be, “I am going to outwork you.” I want to be known for my work ethic more than anything.”

That work ethic has paid off. As a freshman last season, Kim helped the Bears win a school-record six tournaments, secured the first Pac-12 conference title in program history and finished third at the NCAA tournament.

Kim was an All-American last year and was named Co-MVP alongside sophomore Brandon Hagy and junior Max Homa.

“Last year we had a chip on our shoulder because even when we won 6 times, we never felt like we got the attention that we deserved,” Kim says. “It wasn’t until the end that they thought we were contenders.”

This season, Kim led the Bears to five tournament wins in an undefeated fall season. He capped off the fall by winning his first individual title at the last tournament, the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational held at Windemere, Fla.

Kim is still the youngest player on Cal’s starting squad. His older teammates make him grab their bags when the team embarks on road trips. He looks up to  Homa and tries to imitate Homa’s work ethic.

But pretty soon, Kim is going to be the one everyone else looks up to.

“We’re going to need Michael to be a leader,” Desimone says. “And things are moving in that direction.”

When he does become an experienced leader that is looked up by future underclassmen, Kim is certain to carry his distaste for the underdog with him.

For now, though, the Bears are No. 1. Kim is one of the most fierce golfers in the country. He’s not ready to go back to being the underdog.

From the disregarded scrawny high school golfer of the past, Kim is inching ever closer to his Masters dream, his ultimate goal.

If the stars align, he might soon be on the 17th hole at Augusta, one putt down to the great Tiger Woods. Then he will sink the birdie that will set up that 15-foot putt to win the whole thing.

But then, the ideal scenario sets up one obvious problem — a paradox Kim has been running away from all his life.

“Then I’d be the underdog, I guess.”

Contact Warren Laufer at wlaufer@dailycal.org

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On Wednesday, the No. 1 Cal men’s golf team recorded its fourth consecutive victory in dominant fashion. At the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif., the Bears trumped the second-place University of San Fransisco by 20 strokes at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational.

The win also marked the fourth season in a row that Cal has won its own event. Last year, the Bears shared the MacKenzie title with Oregon after battling back from fourth place to compete with the Ducks.

Last year, an epic 25-foot putt from veteran Max Homa on the final hole secured the Bears a share of the tournament title.

This year, Oregon finished the MacKenzie Invitational tied in 11th place.

Though last year’s Invitational was a nail-biter that came down to the final putt, this year couldn’t have been more different.

The Bears ended the first two rounds in the first day with a nine-stroke lead over the University of San Francisco. The Dons were the only team within 25 strokes of the lead after the first day.

The Bears extended that lead by 11 more strokes on Tuesday, pulling away from San Francisco and securing the victory.

Junior Brandon Hagy led the winning effort, earning his first tournament win at 15 under par. He ended the first day at 16-under and with a five-stroke lead over the rest of the field. Hagy shot under par on half of the day’s 36 holes and was able to secure the victory in the third round with 13 pars on 18 of the holes.

The MacKenzie Invitational win is one more link in a chain of Cal wins. The Bears opened the official fall season with a win at the Gopher Invitational, followed by a shared title at the PING/Golfweek Preview. Cal continued onward, racking up  another first place at the Pac-12 Preview.

The Bears remain perfect heading into the elite Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, their final event of the fall season. The three-day tournament begins on Oct. 21 and features fierce competition, including defending champion No. 2 Texas and five of the nation’s other top-15 teams.

Though the Bears have been rolling over most other competition, Isleworth is the one most likely to spoil Cal’s perfect season. The Windemere, Fla., event will serve as a preview of the nation’s best as Cal gears up for the championship season in the spring.

Contact Taylor Brink at tbrink@dailycal.org

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The junior reached the final of the U.S. Amateur Open but fell in the final Sunday, losing to Steven Fox in a playoff after he missed his four-foot par putt to clinch the title on the 18th green.

“Just to see it slip through my fingers, it sucks,” Weaver told the AP. “And I know I had a great week and all that, but I’m not thinking about that right now.”

Weaver’s berth in the final capped a Cinderella run which began with a tenuous stroke play playoff win on Wednesday morning. With four Cal golfers already having clinched berths in the round of 64, Weaver had to sneak in, birdieing the third hole of the qualifying playoff just to make it to match play.

For Weaver, it was a long road to the final.

The Fresno, Calif. native had to come from behind to win his first three matches of the tournament. Weaver trailed Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers in the second round by three holes with six to play on Thursday, but sealed the victory on the final hole.

Later that day, Weaver lost the lead early and didn’t regain it until the 19th and final hole, taking down North Carolina State’s Albin Choi in the third round.

“I’m really happy with how I came back in both matches and stayed mentally tough through all the ups and downs,” Weaver said after clinching his berth in the quarterfinals.

After a relatively easy quarterfinal win, Weaver sealed a berth in next year’s U.S. Open and The Masters with a semifinal win over Alabama’s Justin Thomas on Saturday. The ease with which he qualified for the final surprised him.

“I didn’t quite expect this,” Weaver said. “I hoped that I would be here, but I by no means expected that I would be playing on Sunday.”

But Weaver’s luck ran out in Sunday’s final.

Leading by two with two holes remaining, Weaver conceded his lead to Fox, forcing a playoff. Fox clinched the title on the first playoff hole, draining a 20-foot birdie putt for the win.

Still, Cal’s showing bodes well for the fall season. A year after the Cal men’s golf team reached the NCAA semifinals in June, the squad has to like its chances for its second ever national championship.

Weaver wasn’t the only Cal golfer with an impressive showing at Cherry Hills Country Club.

Five Cal golfers qualified for the 312-member Championship — more than any other school in the country.

All but incoming freshman Walker Huddy advanced from stroke play to the match play round of 64 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and three advanced to the round of 32. Weaver and junior Brandon Hagy each advanced to the semifinals, where Hagy bowed out on Saturday after an impressive run.

Senior Max Homa and sophomore Michael Kim were Cal’s other representatives. Homa won his first round match before bowing out on Thursday.

It was the first time two Cal golfers advanced to the semis of the U.S. Amateur in the same year, and the fourth time any Bear advanced to the final. Robert Hamilton and Ben An are the only other Cal golfers to have ever advanced as far.

“I’m really proud of the way the guys have played,” Cal coach Steve Desimone said, “not just Brandon and Michael, but all five guys really competed and made this quite a U.S. Amateur.”

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The golf world knew that the Bears had talent, but no one expected the results to come as quickly as they did.

With a core of three of the most consistent golfers in the country, a veteran coach, and a skinny freshman with limited power, the Bears did what nobody expected them to do: compete for a national title.

Though Cal was unable to finish a comeback against top-seeded Alabama in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, the season was already historic before the team even reached that point.

“It’s been the best season in Cal golf history,” said head coach Steve Desimone. “We won a national championship in 2004, but if you look at what was accomplished (this year) — six tournament wins, the first conference championship, the first regional win, the academic accomplishments with five guys in Haas [business school] — it doesn’t get any better than this.”

The Bears will return all five golfers that competed at the NCAA competition, putting the squad in prime position to compete for a national title next season. Senior Jeff Hamm is graduating, but Michael Weaver will be back after redshirting this year.

“None of us see this thing slowing down,” Desimone said. “We were so close that we want another crack at this.”

Redshirt sophomore Brandon Hagy led the team alongside junior Max Homa and freshman Michael Kim, who created one of the most powerful top threes in the country.

Desimone says his players will all “be receiving postseason honors,” though those awards have yet to be formally announced.

“They all had great seasons,” Desimone said. “They all had moments where they really carried the team.”

Hagy’s highlight was the Pac-12 conference championship where a 40-foot putt on the 18th hole sent the tournament to extra holes and a 20-foot putt on the same hole minutes later, which won the team its first conference title.

Hagy has high hopes for next year’s team after it advancing so far at NCAAs.

“We expect to be in that final match next year,” Hagy said. “We’re all pretty driven to work hard and prepare for next season because we know that we can be one of those top teams in the country. We want that spotlight.”

The Bears should get that spotlight next year after exceeding all expectations this season. Desimone’s plans are ahead of schedule for the team. He was hoping for a strong showing from his team, but thought that next year would be the breakout season.

Instead, this was Cal’s breakout year.

One reason for this was Kim’s impressive rookie season.

“His track record was such that we thought he would make contributions,” Desimone said. “What surprised us wasn’t the quality, but how quickly he settled into the lineup.”

Whether it was Hagy’s putts, Kim’s short game, or Joel Stalter’s comeback to help the Bears beat SDSU in the NCAA quarterfinals, this year’s Cal golf team established itself as one of the best programs in the country.

If all goes well, next year will be no different — if not even better.

“You can call it overachieving,” Desimone said, “you can call it anything. We’re not sneaking up on anyone next year. We know what the expectations are.

“We got a third place trophy this year, but we want a first place trophy next year.”

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The Bears fell to No. 1-seeded Alabama Saturday afternoon in the NCAA match play semifinals at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

After the first three days of competition, the Bears were tied for fourth place out of the best 25 teams in the country. The top eight teams from the first three days advanced to the match play rounds.

Friday’s match play quarterfinals paired the Bears with the other fourth-seeded team, San Diego State.

After sophomore Brandon Hagy and junior Max Homa lost the opening two matches against the Aztecs, the Bears rallied to win three straight and advance to the semifinals. Joel Stalter sank a 20-foot putt on the 17th green to give the Bears the match.

Sunday’s rounds would not be as friendly for the young Cal team. The Bears fell behind Alabama early and did not lead in the entire match. Homa and freshman Michael Kim were able to pull off comebacks in their rounds, but Hagy and Pace Johnson both dropped to their Crimson Tide opponent.

On the 17th hole, Stalter was faced with a familiar situation: a 20-foot putt in a must-win situation for the second day in a row. His putt looked straight but tailed off at the last second.

“I thought it was going in,” Stalter said about his putt on the par-five 17th. “It looked good, but it had a little too much speed. It could have gone in but somehow it lipped out.”

As Stalter matched his opponent with par on the 17th hole, Johnson finished on the 18th, unable to mount a comeback.

On the 18th hole, Stalter had his entire team on his back. The sophomore needed to win the hole just to push the match to an extra hole. After a tee shot went wide, Stalter hit a perfect approach shot that hooked nearly 30 feet around a group of trees and came to rest on the green 12 feet from the hole. He was unable to make the putt, and the Bears triumph-filled season came to an end.

“What an incredible match,” coach Steve Desimone said. “Win or lose, I’m proud of the way my guys played. They never quit; they never gave an inch. We’re disappointed, but it was fun to watch, I’ll tell you that.”

All five Cal golfers finished in the top 100 on the stroke play leaderboard. Although Homa’s ninth place finish led the squad, the team’s depth is a testament to the team’s success. Hagy had Cal’s second-best individual finish, coming in tied for 45th overall.

Desimone watched some holes through his binoculars as he accompanied his players on the course. His face was unable to hide his excitement as the Bears mounted their attempt at a comeback.

“You’ve got to give Alabama credit because we closed in on them,” Desimone said, “especially over the last four or five holes. But they hung tough. We just couldn’t quite catch them, and that’s the way golf goes sometimes.”

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This season, the squad won a record six tournaments, including its first Pac-12 conference championship.

This year’s Cal team has had more success than any other in program history, except for one thing — the 2012 Bears have yet to bring home the NCAA trophy, something that the 2004 team accomplished for the first time in Cal history.

“This team knows that until there’s a second trophy hanging in my room they’ll always be number two,” said Cal coach Steve Desimone.

The journey to that NCAA National Championship begins its final leg Tuesday as the Bears begin the first of three days of stroke play at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The format of stroke play will be five golfers per team with the top four scores in each round counting towards each team’s total.

The eight teams with the lowest scores after the first three days will begin three days of match play on Friday.

Of the five Cal golfers competing, junior Max Homa and sophomore Brandon Hagy have the team’s only NCAA championship experience. Homa tied for 86th place in 2010 and improved 17th last year. Hagy was 135th in the 2010 competition.

Freshman Michael Kim, sophomore Joel Stalter, and junior Pace Johnson will all be competing in their first championship.

If the Bears are able to qualify for match play, they will be as prepared as anyone to win the title. The team has played in two match play tournaments this year after only playing one in the program’s history before this year.

“We played strong in both match play tournaments,” Desimone said, “even though we weren’t at full strength for either of them.”

The extra holes against Oregon at the Pac-12 championship were a similar format to match play, and the team has practiced the format internally as well.

“We’ve done everything we can do to be prepared,” Desimone said. “You never know what is going to happen in the final eight, but I don’t know how we could be any more prepared than we are.”

After winning its last two tournaments, Cal’s confidence and health are the best they have been all year. The performance of other teams has given the Bears an extra confidence boost as well.

“It was good to see Oregon knock off Texas in their regional,” Desimone said. “That showed that even though Texas was No. 1 all year, they are still beatable.”

Desimone won’t give his team too much credit yet, but he knows that the Bears are in a prime position to keep their hot streak going.

“We have more than a legitimate shot to win this,” Desimone said. “We have as good of a shot to win this as anybody at the tournament. That’s all you can ask right now, just give us that chance.”

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