STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; October 26, 2004 - The Penn State Men's Golf team shot a 607 (+31) to take eighth place in the 1st Annual Big Ten/Pac 10 Challenge held at Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Bandon, Ore. No. 20 Minnesota shot a 4-over 292 to come back from 13 strokes off the pace and win the tournament after a tie-breaker over No. 10 USC. UCLA shot a 598 (+22) to take third place while Arizona State (+25) and Northwestern (+26) were only separated by one stroke for fourth and fifth place.

Senior Greg Pieczynski (Kingston, Pa.) finished the tournament in 18th place with a 151 (+7) to lead all Nittany Lions individually. Seniors Ted Neville (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Mark Leon (Brampton, Ontario) and junior Marco Poccia (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) all finished one stroke behind Pieczynski as the three fired a 152 (+8) good enough for a tie in 22nd place. Senior Andrew Price (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finished in a tie for 57th place after finishing with a final 160 (+16).

Alejandro Canizares of Arizona State took first place individually as he shot a 1-under 71 in both rounds to finish 142 (-2). Alex Prugh of Washington finished with a 143 (-1) took take second place while Taylor Wood of USC finished even on par with a final score of 144 to capture the third spot.

The Nittany Lions will be off for the next three weeks before they travel to Howie in the Hills, Florida for the GCAA National Match Play Tournament from Nov. 14-16. Penn State will head back to Howie in the Hills, Florida on Mar. 7-8 for the Irish Spring Tournament this spring.