Monday, February 27, 2006

SAN JUAN, P.R. (February 27, 2006) - Powered by a pair of 2-under 70s from senior Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) and true freshman Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh, Scotland), the 16^th-ranked ETSU men's golf team moved up four spots to sixth after second round play Monday in the Puerto Rico Classic at the Westin Rio Mar Golf Club.

The Bucs, who were one of only four teams to break par on the day, are currently ahead of four top 15 teams in an extremely tough field that includes 14 squads ranked in the Top 40 nationally.

"We played better today and to be one of only four teams to break par on a tough course was good," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "Three of the top four teams in the country are ahead of us, but we're in front of some very good teams as well. I think our depth showed today with everyone contributing."

Findlay currently enjoys the best individual performance for ETSU, standing in a tie for ninth place at 2-under for the tournament. Sophomore Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) is currently tied for 17^th at 1-under for the event, and Davies is tied for 24^th at even par. The Bucs trail first place Oklahoma State by 16 strokes, and OSU's Pablo Martin currently stands atop the leaderboard at 9-under.

The Bucs certainly got consistent play from throughout its lineup on Monday, as not one player shot a score higher than 2-over 74. The rest of ETSU's results included freshman Adam Hodkinson (Dore, England) and sophomore Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) both firing 2-over-par 74s for the day.

ETSU will return to third and final round play on Tuesday morning. For complete results, see the attached score pages.