Monday, February 26, 2007

                RIO GRANDE, P.R. (Feb. 26, 2007) - The ETSU men's golf team was not able to replicate its dominating first round performance during the second day of the Westin Rio Mar Puerto Rico Collegiate Classic, but the Buccaneers will still be within striking distance of winning a tournament title when Tuesday's third and final round commences tomorrow at the Rio Mar Country Club.

            One day after firing a 15-under-par 273 and taking a six-stroke lead on the team leaderboard, the Bucs posted a 2-over-par 290 to end Monday's play in third place at 563. ETSU is just seven strokes back of No. 5 Georgia and three strokes behind No. 2 Stanford, while still besting top programs such as No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Alabama.

            Individually, both ETSU senior Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) and junior Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) shared the first round lead with 65s on Sunday, but both fell out of the top spot on Monday. Davies posted a 1-over 73 to move into a tie for third at 138, while McNamara posted a 2-over 74 to finish tied for seventh at 139. Stanford's Joseph Bramlett and Georgia's Brendon Todd are currently tied for the top spot on the individual leaderboard with scores of 8-under 136.   

            "We struggled for much of the day, and the Par 5s really hurt us," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "On Sunday we played the Par 5s better than any other team out here, but we didn't do it today. We're seven strokes back, but we still have a chance. It's been a great experience so far and we're just hoping to be better tomorrow."

            Along with Davies and McNamara, sophomore Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh, Scotland) finished tied for 21^st at 1-under for the tournament (143), while freshman Seamus Power (Waterford, Ireland) is tied fro 27^th at even-par.

            For live stats from the final round of the Puerto Rico Collegiate Classic, click on the following link: http://purduesports.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/07-puerto-rico-live-scoring.html. Otherwise, fans are encouraged to visit ETSUBucs.com at the conclusion of play on Tuesday.