Tuesday, April 18, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 18, 2006) - Four ETSU players fired par or better rounds Tuesday during the second round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at the Eagle Creek Golf Club, but Jacksonville bested the Bucs by posting the lowest team round of the tournament with a 282, propelling the Dolphins into the lead.

The 10^th-ranked Bucs, who stand at 570 (283-287), will enter Wednesday's third and final round two strokes back of Jacksonville (286-282=568), while third-place North Florida (285-286=571) and Campbell (289-289=578) are still within striking distance. On the individual leaderboard, Russel Knox and Duncan Stewart of Jacksonville have powered the Dolphins' rally and currently stand tied in first place at 8-under with identical scores of 138 (70-68) for the tournament.

As for ETSU's individual performances, freshman Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh, Scotland) is in second just one stroke behind Knox and Stewart at 139 (69-70), while junior Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) is fourth at 141 (69-72) and sophomore Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) is tied for ninth at 143 (70-73). Other Buc results include freshman Adam Hodkinson (Dore, England), who is tied for 19^th at 147 (75-72), and sophomore Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland), who is tied for 35^th at 152 (77-75).

"We played OK even though we struggled again early and played well the rest of the round," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "We did not make a lot of putts today and we seemed to fight the course a bit and that made us struggle a little. I think we've done some good things, though, and even though we haven't played to our potential yet, we still have an opportunity and we're right there."

Davies said the team is mentally prepared for tomorrow's final round.

"I think we're quite strong mentally because we know we haven't performed to our peak yet," said Davies, the nation's No. 5-ranked collegiate golfer. "We know that maybe tomorrow will be the day. Being just two strokes back means things can change in just one hole. We'll just go out and player our game as usual, and if we play close to our abilities we should pull away comfortably."

After surrendering 20 sub-par rounds in the first round, Eagle Creek GC toughened up, allowing only 15 totals below the par 73. Michael Martin of Belmont joined Stewart and Knox in the sub-70 club, firing a four-under par 69 which was the low score until the final two groups reached the clubhouse. Beyond the top-3, the remainder of the field changed little with only Gardner-Webb passing Stetson.

Third round play is scheduled for Wednesday, as play will commence at 7:40 am with the Lou McCullough Trophy and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional hanging in the balance. For updated results from the championship, visit AtlanticSun.org, or get a complete wrap up following each day's play by clicking on ETSUBucs.com.