Kats Move Up To 12th In NCAA 2nd Round
5/15/2015 7:13:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Sam Houston men's golf team got off to a good start in Friday's second round of the University of Washington NCAA Regional Championship but key shots on the second nine of the day didn't drop.
The result is that, heading into the tournament's final day Saturday at the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington, the Bearkats still trail most of the field.
Sam Houston followed up Thursday's disappointing 300 with 295 Friday to move up to 12th place in the team standings with a 19 over par total of 595. The Bearkats' score is 22 strokes behind fifth place Baylor. The top five teams from each of the five regional tournaments advance to the NCAA National Championships to be held May 29 through June 3 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.
“We got off to a really good start,” Sam Houston head coach Brandt Kieschnick said. “We were under par through the first nine. I was proud of the guys fighting back to get under par.”
Starting at number 10 tee after a 40 minute delay due to fog, Logan Boatner raced out to a four-under 32 that included an eagle two after holing an approach shot on the eighteenth. J. T. Taylor was one-under for the first nine with a 35.
Sophomore Andrew Ertel bounced back from a four-over 40 on the first nine to birdie the number five, six and nine holes to finish his second nine three-under and the day with a one-over 73.
"With bogies on four of the first five holes, I got off to a really bad start," Ertel said. "But I started playing better with eight straight pars and birdied three of the last five holes."
Unfortunately, three Bearkats played the punishing front nine 11 strokes over par.
“We couldn't put two nines together,” Kieschnick said. “We are just a little off this week. I'm proud of the way the guys are playing and fighting hard. They are making good decisions. The ball is just not falling in. We were on the wrong side of the hole a couple of times.”
Taylor has put two even par rounds of 72 together to stand tied for 23rd in the individual standings. Ertel is in 44th place with a 76-73—149. Other Bearkat scores and individual standings are Zach Cabra 75-76—151 (54th), Boatner 79-74—153 (65th) and Jake McCrory 77-79—156 (71st).
TCU leads the team standings with a 564 total. Alabama-Birmingham (565), Southern California (569), South Carolina (571) and Baylor (573) round out the top five.
Sam Houston finished the second round with 13 birdies to bring the team's total to 26 for the tournament. Boatner's eagle was the Bearkats' second of the week. There have been only seven other eagles spread among the remaining 13 teams.
The Kats will be paired with Pepperdine and Virginia Commonwealth in Saturday's final round. The three teams's first tee time is at 8:25 a.m. (10:25 Huntsville time) beginning on the 10th tee.
“Today was better but we have to play ever better tomorrow,” Kieschnick said. “We have a habit of finishing strong in tournaments this year. I'm confident that the guys will be fighting to finish as strong as they can.”
WASHINGTON NCAA REGIONAL STANDINGS.
TEAM STANDINGS
|
1 |
TCU |
281 |
283 |
564 |
-12 |
||||
|
2 |
UAB |
280 |
285 |
565 |
-11 |
||||
|
3 |
So. California |
271 |
288 |
569 |
-7 |
||||
|
4 |
South Carolina |
288 |
283 |
571 |
-5 |
||||
|
5 |
Baylor |
293 |
280 |
573 |
-3 |
||||
|
6 |
Iowa State |
287 |
287 |
574 |
-2 |
||||
|
7 |
Washington |
287 |
290 |
577 |
+1 |
||||
|
8 |
Michigan |
292 |
288 |
580 |
+4 |
||||
|
9 |
UC Davis |
289 |
295 |
584 |
+8 |
||||
|
10 |
Pepperdine |
292 |
295 |
587 |
+11 |
||||
|
11 |
VCU |
304 |
288 |
592 |
+16 |
||||
|
12 |
Sam Houston |
300 |
295 |
595 |
+19 |
||||
|
13 |
Cleveland St. |
305 |
291 |
596 |
+20 |
||||
|
14 |
South Dakota |
298 |
304 |
602 |
+26 |
||||
TOP INDIVIDUALS
|
1 |
Cheng-Tsung Pan |
Washington |
67 |
69 |
136 |
|
T2 |
Kyle Mueller |
Michigan |
72 |
66 |
138 |
|
Rico Hoey |
So. Calif. |
69 |
69 |
138 |
|
|
Giulio Castagnara |
TCU |
70 |
68 |
138 |
|
|
Paul Dunne |
UAB |
67 |
71 |
138 |
SAM HOUSTON SCORES
|
23 |
72 |
72 |
144 |
|
|
44 |
76 |
73 |
149 |
|
|
54 |
75 |
76 |
151 |
|
|
65 |
79 |
74 |
153 |
|
|
71 |
77 |
79 |
156 |
