Elon fifth after two rounds of Joe Agee Invitational

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Rounds of 300 and 295 have the Elon Phoenix standing in fifth place following the first two rounds of the Joe Agee Invitational that were contested on Monday.

Pacing the attack for the Maroon and Gold was John Somers, who will enter Tuesday's final round in a tie for eighth individually among the 60 golfers in the field. Somers recorded 23 pars over his 36 holes on Monday on his way to a mark of 144 (70-74) on the day.

In a tie for 12th is a pair of Elon players, Jack Adkins and Will Dilanni. Adkins carded seven birdies on his way to a mark of 147 (73-74). Dilanni's 147 came following rounds of 75 and 72.

Raphael Higuet sits in a tie for 41st with a score of 158 (83-75), while Dylan Morgan is in a tie for 43rd with a two-round score of 159 (82-77).

The individual lead at the end of day one was shared by High Point's Chase Wilson and Radford's Callum Tarren at 134.

High Point (287-285) and Radford (285-287) also are even for the team lead at 572. Host William & Mary (286-291--577) is third and Delaware (299-288--587) sits fourth in the 11-team event.

 

Furman eighth at Cardinal Intercollegiate

SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Senior Anthony Aloi (-3) followed a first-round 71 with a 2-under 70 in the afternoon round to move into a tie for fifth place after 36 holes on Monday in the Cardinal Intercollegiate at the par-72 Cardinal Club Golf Course.

Aloi, a native of Plainsboro, N.J., birdied four of his final nine holes in opening-round play to card a 71 before notching three birdies with just one bogey to produce a second-round 70. He trails second-round leader Wes Green (-7) of Bowling Green by four strokes entering Tuesday’s final 18 holes.

Senior Matt Brown, of Brookeville, Md., carded back-to-back rounds of 73 to share 25th place on Monday. He totaled six birdies over two rounds, including birdies in both rounds at No. 9 and No. 17. Teammate Johnny Kyger (+8) rebounded from a first-round 81 to shoot a second-round 71, while sophomore Josh Chay (+4) posted rounds of 73 and 75.

Bowling Green (-8), on the strength of a second-round 280, grabbed a two-stroke advantage over host Louisville (-6), with Murray State (+2), Austin Peay (+4) and Arkansas-Little Rock (+7) rounding out the top five.

Furman (+11) is 19 strokes behind the leader entering Tuesday’s final round. The Paladins are set to tee off at 8 a.m.

 

UNCG tied for ninth at VCU Shootout

MANAKIN-SABOT, Va. – UNCG freshman men’s golfer Luke Haithcock sits in a tie for sixth place after firing an even-par 144 after 36 holes on day one of the VCU Shootout at Hermitage Country Club on Monday afternoon.

Haithcock posted a 1-over par 73 in round one while a 1-under par 71 in round two to sit three shots behind Maryland’s Sean Bosdosh for the lead. He recorded seven birdies on the afternoon, including four in his second round, as he shot under par for the first time in his short collegiate career.

UNCG sits in a tie for ninth overall as a team with a score of 609 after shooting a first-round score of 315 before regrouping for a round-two total of 294. The Spartans’ 21-stroke reversal from round one to round two was the biggest of day one, while the 294 score was tied for the third-lowest for a team on day one. Wichita State leads the VCU Shootout with a 36-hole total of 580 (288-294), while Virginia Tech has a 587 (292-295).

Senior Matt Younts sits in a tie for 31st place as an individual with a score of 152. Younts tied his career low with a first-round score of 2-under par, shooting two birdies and 16 pars.

Sophomore Alex Ehlert is in a tie for 38th overall with a 154 (81-73), while Roy Dixon is tied for 50th overall with a two-round score of 156 (80-76).

Freshman Taylor Coalson posted a two-round score of 157 (81-76), followed by senior Robert Hoadley, who carded a 159 (85-74).

The Spartans conclude the VCU Shootout on Tuesday with an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start in round three.

 

Chattanooga 15^th at PING/Golfweek Preview, Robb tied for second

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team is 15th at the PING/Golfweek Preview at 596. The PING/Golfweek Preview features a top-flight field at the Capital City Club – Crabapple Course, site of the 2013 NCAA Championship.

Chris Robb leads Chattanooga at two-over par 142. He is tied for 15th, one shot out of the top 10.

Liam Johnston and Steven Fox are next in line for the Mocs. Johnston is four shots behind Robb at 146, with Fox two more back at 148. Alex Ratliff and Kory Webb are at 160 and 161, respectively.

UCLA switched places with UNLV atop the team leaderboard. The Bruins (566) leads the Rebels (567) by one. Georgia Tech and Cal are tied for third at 569. Nine teams are within 10 shots of the top spot. Tom Berry (San Diego State) is still in first individually at four-under (136), two strokes in front of Gavin Green (New Mexico) at minus-two.

The final round starts Tuesday at 8:50 a.m., with Webb teeing it up on No. 10. UTC is paired with Kent State and Florida State. Ratliff (9 a.m.), Fox (9:10), Johnston (9:20) and Robb (9:30) follow.

Western Carolina in seventh at Saint Mary’s Invitational

SEASIDE, Calif. – With three golfers inside the top 30 individuals, Western Carolina concluded play at the Saint Mary’s Invitational on Monday in seventh place out of 15 teams at the Black Horse & Bayonet Golf Course.

Sophomore J.T. Poston recovered from an opening-round 4-over 76 to match the lowest round of the opening 36 holes by shooting 6-under 66 in the afternoon to stand in a four-way tie for third entering the final round.

Teams played the Bayonet Golf Course in the opening round before playing the Black Horse course in the afternoon’s second round.

Poston (142) moved from a tie for 36th after the opening round into third by trimming 10 strokes off his opening-round score. Starting on hole No. 14 on the back nine, Poston was even through his first 10 holes of the opening round. However, bogeys on four of the final seven holes left him at 4-over 76.

In the second round – again beginning on the par-4 14th – Poston scored birdies on four of his first eight holes before a bogey on No. 4 moved him to 3-under. He closed with a trio of birdies in his final nine to shoot 6-under 66, matching his career-low round shot last fall in WCU’s home tournament at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley, the Hummingbird Intercollegiate.

Redshirt senior Kyle Wilson (148) was second for the Catamounts, tied for 23rd after rounds of 3-over 75 and 1-over 73, advancing four places after the opening round. Wilson started the tournament strong with two birdies and an eagle among his first four holes to stand at 4-under par. However, a double-bogey on the par-5 No. 1 was followed by six bogeys and just one more birdie the final 13 holes to shoot 3-over.

Wilson’s second round featured five birdies against four bogeys and one double-bogey for 1-over 73.

Senior Steven Smith led the Catamounts after the opening round after posting a 2-over 74. After carding four bogeys through his first nine holes, Smith rallied with three birdies with just one bogey his final nine for the 2-over par opening. His second round featured six bogeys against just two pars for the 4-over 76, leaving him tied with eight others for 29th overall at 150.

Rounding out WCU’s side through the first 36 holes were junior Greg Bunner, tied for 61st at 155 (78-77) and redshirt sophomore Collin Witiak in a tie for 77th at 162 (81-81). Bunner posted seven bogeys and one par in his opening round. Two double-bogeys added to four bogeys in the second round were countered by three birdies to trim one stroke off his first 18 holes to shoot 77. Witiak managed three birdies in his second round, but posted 10 holes of bogey or worse to shoot matching 9-over par rounds of 81.

Tournament host Saint Mary’s (Calif.) leads the 15-team field after shooting rounds of 290 and 285 for a 36-hole score of 575, two strokes ahead of Fresno State (289-288=577). Oregon stands third, eight strokes off the pace at 583, with Kentucky (587) and Santa Clara (588) rounding out the top five.

Fellow Southern Conference member Samford is in 12th place after shooting rounds of 304 and 305 for an opening-day 609.

Jonathan De Los Reye of Saint Mary’s (Calif.) and Sacramento State’s Ryan Williams lead the 84-golfer field with matching scores of 4-under 140. The two were tied for fifth place after the opening round by carding even-par 72s but followed up those rounds with mirroring 4-under 68s in the second round. The duo enters the final round two strokes ahead of the four-way tie for third place.

Tuesday’s final round begins at 8 a.m. Pacific time. WCU is paired with golfers from UC Irvine and Sacramento State and will begin on holes seven through 10.

Samford in 12th at Saint Mary’s Invitational

SEASIDE, Calif. – Samford’s men’s golf team is in 12th place after two rounds of the Saint Mary’s Invitational at the par-72, 7,024 yard Bayonet and Blackhorse Golf Club. The Bulldogs shot 304 in the first round and 305 in the second for a 33-over 609 on the day.

Casey O’Toole was in fourth place after shooting a first-round 71 but slipped into a tie for 27^th with a second-round 78 for a first-day total of 149, 5-over.