John Mlikotic fired a final round 68 to finish second overall at the California Baptist Invitational at Eagle Glen Golf Club last Tuesday.
With the runner-up finish, the Simon Fraser University senior captain garnered the Great Northwest conference golfer of the week honour.
Three of Mlikotic's Simon Fraser University teammates finished in the top 20 to help lift the Clan to its first tournament victory of the season.
It is the Clan's second tournament victory since joining NCAA Division II in 2010.
Mlikotic, a Kelowna native, carded a final round four-under-par 68 to finish at 214, one stroke behind individual winner Kenny You of Dixie State University.
Mlikotic had rounds of 76-70-68 to finish two-under-par for the tournament. You won with rounds of 68-74-70 for a 213 total.
Mlikotic recorded 13 birdies over three rounds on the par-72 course.
"John's final two rounds were the difference for our team after starting off with a 76," said Clan head coach John Buchanan in a school press release. "Sometimes you find your comfort level on a golf course and I think John maybe found his on this one."
The top four scores among team members each round counted towards the team standing.
Mlikotic's opening round 76 was discarded by the Clan when freshman Tony Ko shot a 71. Ko's final two rounds of 77 and 81 left him tied for 42nd place but were not used in the team scoring.
"Tony came in and fired a great opening round to lead the team and then had some trouble," said Buchanan. "But Tony did his job for us."
Simon Fraser, the ninth-ranked team in NCAA Division II, finished first in the 15-team field with a six-over-par 870, followed by Sonoma State (878), No. 3 Chico State (883), No. 23 Dixie State (885), and Dominican (887) in fifth spot.
"We are not firing on all cylinders right now, so to come away with a win in this tournament against many of our rivals tells me the team is starting to believe in itself," said Buchanan. "I can trace it back to the success the team had at nationals last year and the players starting to have the faith that they can compete and have success."
Clan sophomore Kevin Vigna of Coquitlam, who recorded two eagles during the tournament, shot a final round 73 to finish four strokes back of You, tied for seventh place. Vigna had rounds of 72-72-73 to finish at one-over-par 217. SFU freshman Chris Crisologo of Richmond had rounds of 73-74-74 and finished tied for 16th with a 221 total. Junior Bret Thompson tied for 18th after rounds of 73, 76 and 74 for 223.
Clan golfers registered 14 of 15 rounds at or below 77.
The Clan finished 17th in its first appearance at the NCAA championship in 2014.
