The Arizona men’s golf team finished in ninth-place on Saturday at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Wildcats finished the 14-team tournament with a score of 895 (31-over par). A rough end to the second round put the Wildcats in a tough position going into the final third round, where they shot a 303 (15-over par) and finished the tournament ninth.

“Finishing ninth was pretty disappointing,” head coach Jim Anderson said. “We know we have guys who can play. It wasn’t what we were expecting.”

The Wildcats had a strong first round and were in the hunt for a big win, but couldn’t continue in the second round pushed them out of the pack.

“We started off well,” Anderson said. “But we wasted some shots in the second round and didn’t do well in finishing and executing.”

Arizona junior Erik Oja led the Wildcats with an overall score of 219 and a 10th-place finish. It was his sixth career top-10 finish and Arizona’s third top-10 finish in two events this season.

“Erik did great,” Anderson said. “We’re going to rely on him to carry the team during the season. After Saturday’s finish, I hope he can continue to build confidence which could lead to a break out season.”

Along with Oja, the Wildcats lineup included freshman Dylan Healey, senior Trent Redfern, senior Juan Pablo Hernandez and sophomore Dylan Kornber, who finished 33rd, 43rd, 51st, and 63rd respectively.

“We’re still trying to find out what is our best lineup,” Anderson said. “Individual performance did well and we’re getting closer and closer to the best line.”

Anderson said he understands the season is a process, but with the Pac-12 preview right around the corner the Wildcats will be up against tougher opponents. Anderson also said he wants to make sure his team better handles adverse conditions and plays smarter.

“We got to play more mentally tough,” Anderson said. “Sometimes par is a great score, but we’ve got to put balls in better spots to set up par and just play smart.”