Mocs in Top Five Heading into Final Round
LEADERBOARDS: http://www.golfstatresults.com//public/index.cfm?tournament_id=1465
(Complete PDF results will be available on GoMocs.com later this evening)
STILLWATER, Okla.---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s golf team is right where they want to be in 24 hours; in the top five at the NCAA South Central Regional at the Karsten Creek Golf Course. The Mocs shot a 12-over par 300 and are alone in second place at 598 (+22).
No. 4 Oklahoma State is the leader after 36 holes at nine-over par 585. The Cowboys used the local knowledge of their home course to good use with an impressive one-over par score of 289 for the second round.
The Mocs made a lot of noise early. Fredrik Qvicker led off the day’s round and moved Chattanooga into a tie for first with OSU when he made a blind chip shot from off the third green as both teams were nine-over par for the tournament.
Derek Rende kept the momentum going with his first birdie of the day on eight to give the Mocs the outright lead at eight over. Stephan Jaeger followed with a birdie on seven to get UTC to seven-over par.
Chattanooga stumbled at the turn falling back seven shot to 14 over, while the Cowboys surged to plus seven. Within a 30-minute span, the Mocs charged back to tie it at 13-over par on a Qvicker birdie at 12.
But the Cowboys were not to be denied. OSU closed strong shooting five-under par as a team over the final eight holes to take a commanding 13-shot lead into the final round.
Jaeger was phenomenal on the day for Chattanooga with a two-under par round of 70. He is one-under par 143 for 36 holes sitting in third place overall, one shot behind OSU’s Peter Uihlein and Wichita State’s Connor McHenry at two-under 142.
Ben Rickett was solid all day shooting a one-over par 73. He had three birdies with four bogeys. Rickett is now in fourth at one-over par 145, just three shots out of the individual lead.
Qvicker bounced back from an opening round 79 (+7) with a 73 (+1) today. The junior made the turn at minus two and was at one under through 15. Qvicker carded bogeys at 16 and 17 before parring 18. He is now tied for 30th at 152 (+8).
It was a tough day for Rende and Jonathan Hodge. With winds at 20 miles per hour and gusting to 25 throughout the day, it was not the day to battle your swing. Rende finished his day at 84, while Hodge shot 87.
The top five teams advance to the NCAA Finals May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The current top five are OSU (585), Chattanooga (598), Arkansas (599), Northwestern (603) and LSU (605). Most importantly, the Mocs are 10 shots clear of sixth place Wichita State at 608.
Tomorrow’s final round starts at 9:40 a.m., with the Mocs playing again with Oklahoma State and Arkansas. Hodge leads off followed by Rende, Qvicker, Rickett and Jaeger.
NOTES:
>The Mocs played the front nine at plus two, while carding a 10 over on the back side.
>For the second straight day, Chattanooga had the second best round of the day.
>Jaeger had a great scoring day with seven birdies. What might have been? The true freshman just missed birdies at 13, 14 and 15 before closing with birdies on 17 and 18. No. 17 is one of the toughest holes in college golf.
>Rickett parred the first three holes and then answered a bogey with back-to-back birdies on five and six.
>Qvicker’s front side was pristine with two birdies and seven pars. After bogeys at 10 and 11 dropped him to even par for the day, he answered with a birdie on the par four 12th hole.
>Rende’s day ended on a high note with a birdie on 18 which was clutch for the team score.
>Hodge ended his day with a birdie as well. The senior played the par fives at one-under par with birdies at 14 and 18 and a bogey on one.
Eagle Golf In Tenth After Second Round of NCAA Southeast Regional
Three Eagles fire even-par or sub-par rounds on the day.
SORRENTO, Fla. - Three Georgia Southern Eagles carded even-par rounds or better on day two of the NCAA Southeast Regional Friday (May 15) as junior Spencer Fulford and sophomore Logan Blondell both led the team with 2-under par 69s. Georgia Southern shaved 10 strokes off its opening round score to tally a second round 281 (-3), jumping two spots on the leader board and standing in 10th place with a 572 (+4) aggregated score heading in to the final round on Saturday. The Regional is being challenged on the par-71, 7,136 yard Red Tail Golf Club.
“The guys played a better round today, coming in at 3-under for the day and moving up a couple spots. We got a few birdies to fall and eliminated some of our mistakes,” said Georgia Southern head coach Larry Mays. “Tomorrow we need to come out and have a great round. I’m proud of the team for regrouping and bouncing back today.”
UCF battled for a first place hold all day with Arizona as the two were tied at 23-under with three holes remaining. UCF outlasted Arizona by two strokes to remain in first at 23-under. Coming in third is No. 1 Georgia at 11-under 557. Charlotte trails Georgia by one stroke at 558 (-12) for fourth, while South Carolina and Kentucky are tied for fifth at 8-under 560.
The first Eagle with a 2-under par tally in round two was junior Fulford, a native of Rocky Mount, N.C. Opening on the back nine, the Eagle carded a nearly perfect half with three birdies to one bogey. Making the turn at 2-under, Fulford erased a bogey on four with a birdie on seven to post an even-par front nine, securing a 69 for the day. Fulford’s second round tally jumped him to a 15th place tie on the individual standings.
Blondell, a native of Lakeland, Fla., improved his score by a team-best five strokes succeeding his opening round of 2-over par with a 3-under par second round; Blondell’s second round was highlighted by a stretch of four consecutive birdies on the front nine’s first four holes. Two bogeys on the back nine put Blondell +2 at the turn before the Eagle fired off his first of four birdies that would push him to 2-under entering hole five. The sophomore then pared the final five holes to secure a 4-under par 31 on the front half for a second round 69 placing him in a tie for 31st on the individual leader board.
As the third Eagle to card a nearly flawless round, senior Drew Lethem finished the day with an even-par 71 after an opening round 73. Lethem completed his second round with two birdies, two bogeys and 14 pars. The Camdenton, Missouri senior was 1-under par after the back nine before he pared the next eight holes. A bogey on hole nine put him even on the day. Lethem enters the final round on Saturday in a tie for 44th place.
Sophomore Joe Monte excised three strokes from his first round to post a 72 (+1) second round. Monte highlighted his second round with a pair of birdies on holes 14 and 17. The Chantilly, Virginia native stands tied for 57th after two rounds.
Closing out the five Eagles competing and finishing the day at 2-over was senior Ryan LeFevre. The Boca Raton, Fla. native rebounded from a 6-over par opening round by shaving four strokes in his second round. The Eagle fired off three birdies, two on the front half, for his 2-over par 73, putting him in a 69th place tie.
The final round of competition begins Saturday morning at 8 a.m. with Georgia Southern being led by Ryan LeFevre who tees off at 8:50 a.m. on the back nine. Fans can follow the action at www.Golfstat.com. The top five teams and top individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship in Toledo, Ohio to be played May 26-30.
TEAM RESULTS ? DAY TWO
1. UCF 268-277=545 (-23)
2. Arizona 270-277=547 (-21)
3. Georgia 282-274=557 (-11)
4. Charlotte 273-285=558 (-10)
T5. South Carolina 273-287=560 (-8)
T5. Kentucky, U. of 281-279=560 (-8)
7. Iowa, U. of 283-278=561 (-7)
8. Georgia State Univ. 282-280=562 (-6)
9. Florida State 277-286=563 (-5)
10. Georgia Southern 291-281=572 (+4)
11. Campbell 293-281=574 (+6)
12. Augusta State 282-293=575 (+7)
13. Indiana 294-284=578 (+10)
14. Loyola College 284-302=586 (+18)
GEORGIA SOUTHERN INDIVIDUALS ? DAY TWO
T15. Spencer Fulford 70-69= 139 (-3)
T31. Logan Blondell 73-69= 142 (E)
T44. Drew Lethem 73-71= 144 (+2)
T57. Joe Monte 75-72= 147 (+5)
T69. Ryan LeFevre 77-73= 150 (+8)