A round of applause for the Colorado State University men’s golf team is in order after completing a historic season that saw them fall just short of qualifying for the NCAA National Tournament.

The Rams finished with two team tournament wins this year, defending their title for the fifth year in a row at the Ram Masters Invitational played at Fort Collins Country Club and recording another team win at the Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club back in October.

The Rams suffered a tough end to their season as they were unable to match the University of South Carolina in a decisive playoff round on the last day of the regional tournament at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington.

CSU had strong outings from many players throughout the weekend, but they finished on the outside looking in. Senior Jake Staiano led the Rams, shooting 1-under-par (69) on the final 18 holes and finishing 7-under (203) tied for 12th. Junior AJ Ott finished close behind at 6-under-par (204) after shooting a 68 to put him 2-under in the last round and tied at 17th in the field.

A trio of underclassmen chipped in to keep the Rams in pursuit of that final spot as freshman Davis Bryant shot a 4-under-par (66) in his last round and finished at 4-under (206), tied at 27th. Freshman Oscar Teiffel finished the tournament at 2-under-par (208) and tied at 33rd. Sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri finished up at 2-over-par (212) to tie at 47th.

CSU finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked #41 in the nation with a record of 84-28-1 in head-to-head play, an 18-12-1 record against Pac-12 schools and 26-11 versus Mountain West rivals.

Some hardware was handed out as Ott was awarded the Colorado Golf Association Les Fowler Player of the Year. Ott was voted as Colorado’s top amateur golfer, making it the second straight year a CSU golfer has won the honor. Staiano won the award last season.

Ott had an exceptional season as he earned All-Mountain West honors and led CSU to its second straight NCAA regional appearance. Ott secured a win at the 118th CGA Match Play event, earning a berth in the National Championship and qualifying for the U.S. Amateur for the second straight year.

Staiano wrapped up his career among the greatest to have played at CSU, scoring an average of 72.20 in 121 rounds and ranking third all-time in average in school history.

The senior from Cherry Hills Village is one of six players in school history to have 50% or more of his rounds finished at par or better. In the 2017-18 season, he shot 20 of his 33 rounds at par or better, an astounding 60.6%, enough to put him in the top 15 in school history.

More Rams made history as Suyasri averaged 72.4 strokes per round with 64 collegiate rounds played; he’s now sixth in CSU history in his career. Teiffel shot an average 71.71 in 35 rounds this year, putting him at 10th for a single season in the record books for CSU annals.

As of June 17, there are six Rams who ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years, and they rank a total of 950 amateur golfers.

The Rams are in the national spotlight, making the Pullman Regional Tournament this year: a feat they will try to replicate next season.

Head Coach Christian Newton has the Rams on the upswing, leading them to at least one tournament win in his last five seasons, with two tournament wins this season. Newton will have his squad ready to go when the season rolls around next year.

Ryan Loberger can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on twitter @LobergerRyan.