Monday, April 18, 2005

            DAVIDSON, N.C. (April 18, 2005) - With one round to play, the East Tennessee State men's golf team finds itself just one stroke back of team-leading Davidson following Monday's second round play in the Southern Conference Championships at the River Run Country Club.

            Entering the day three strokes back of the lead, the Buccaneers posted a second round 298 and gained two strokes on the Wildcats in the team competition. The Bucs are joined in second place by Chattanooga, while UNC Greensboro and Georgia Southern are within striking distance of the top.

In the individual competition, ETSU sophomore Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) holds a solid five-stroke lead on the individual leaderboard heading into the final round. Davies, who posted a 4-under-par 68 on Sunday, finished the second round at even-par 72 thanks to a chip-in for eagle on the No. 18 Par 5. He currently leads Davidson's Steve Mayo by fives strokes, while Chattanooga's Gordon Strother and Elon's Bennett Smith are both six strokes back.

"It's rather crowded at the top with five teams within six shots of the lead, but we feel good about having this chance heading into the final day," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren, who hopes to set a SoCon record by leading the Bucs to their 12^th championship in his tenure. "Rhys struggled to make some putts today, but his eagle on 18 really brought a roar from the crowd. He was able to build his lead to five strokes which is good."

As for the rest of the Bucs, freshman Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) is currently tied for 10^th at 5-over for the tournament, while freshman Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) is tied for 19^th at 7-over. Senior Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales) is tied for 36^th.

            Third and final round play is scheduled for Tuesday. ETSU fans can keep with the Buccaneer men's golf team by visiting Golfstat.com for live results from the event, or they can get a complete wrap-up of the day's play by visiting ETSUBucs.com.

Southern Conference Men's Golf Championships Davidson, N.C.
River Run Country Club Monday's Results
Second Round Team Results