ETSU junior fires a 3-under-par 69; Bucs sit in ninth-place

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Oct. 18, 2014) – Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) made a move on day two of the U.S. Collegiate Championship as the ETSU junior golfer fired a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday at the Golf Club of Georgia – Lakeside Course.

Meronk, the 20th-ranked golfer via the Golfweek Rankings, moved 13 spots up the leaderboard and is tied for 11th at 3-under-par 141 (72-69) following second round play. ETSU’s top golfer carded six birdies in the round and picked up two of them in his final three holes on Saturday.

As Meronk moved up the board, the 24th-ranked Buccaneers dropped four spots as a team. ETSU started the day in a tie for fifth with No. 8 Auburn, but the Blue and Gold ended the round in ninth-place at 2-over-par 578. Overall, the Bucs finished Saturday’s round at 4-over 292.

Texas, the ninth-ranked team in the country, overtook No. 25 Virginia for the team lead. The Longhorns entered the day six shots back of the Cavaliers, but Texas will begin Sunday’s final round with a one-stroke lead over Virginia. The Longhorns posted a second round score of even-par 288 and sit 10-under 566 for the championship, while the Cavaliers are in second at 9-under-par. Virginia finished 7-over on Saturday.

Individually, Virginia’s Denny McCarthy kept his spot atop the leaderboard intact as he totaled an even-par 72 and has a two-shot lead over teammate Derek Bard. McCarthy, who is No. 17 in the World Amateur Rankings, is 9-under-par 135 following 36 holes of competition.

After pacing the Bucs with a 4-under 68 in Friday’s opening round, senior Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd, Wales) moved into a tie for 19th after recording a 3-over 75 on Saturday. Pugh is 1-under-par 143 for the tournament, while sophomore Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Śląskie, Poland) fired a 1-under 71 in round two and is tied for 23rd at even-par 144. Gradecki was 4-under through 12 holes on Saturday, but bogeyed three of his final six holes to end the day.

The Bucs wrap up play at the U.S. Collegiate Championship on Sunday as ETSU’s tees off at 8:30 a.m. The Blue and Gold are paired with No. 3 Stanford and defending champion Oklahoma State.

Live scoring will be available on Golfstat and on the USCC website, while Twitter updates can be accessed by following @ETSUAthletics.

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