CARLSBAD, Calif. (May 25, 2024) – The ETSU men's golf team remains tied for ninth following Saturday's second round play at the NCAA Championship from Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, North Course.
 
Led by Mats Ege and Jenson Forrester in round two, the 19th-ranked Bucs carded a 9-over 297 and are at 17-over-par 593 through the first two rounds. ETSU is tied with Georgia Tech after the Yellow Jackets – playing without its No. 1 golfer Christo Lamprecht (scratched with back tightness) – posted a 13-over 301 on Saturday.
 
Virginia, who entered the day tied for the lead, now sits in sole possession atop the team leaderboard at 1-over-par 577. The Cavaliers were one of three teams to shoot below par in round two as they registered a 1-under 287. Illinois also carded a 287 on the round to move three spots up the leaderboard into second at 4-over-par 580, while Vanderbilt went low at 2-under 286 to jump nine teams en route to moving into third at 7-over-par 583.
 
The remaining top eight teams include Auburn (4th, +10), North Carolina (T5th, +11), Ohio State (T5th, +11), Arizona (T7, +12) and Florida State (T7, +12).
 
Following Sunday's third round, the top 15 teams will advance to the final round of stroke play on Monday. The 15th-place team is currently Stanford at 22-over-par 598. The Bucs have never made the cut since the tournament format changed in 2015.  
 
Ege and Forrester both shot a 1-over 73 on Saturday.
 
Ege remains in the top 10 as he's tied for seventh at even-par 144. Similar to Friday's opening round, Ege finished strong as he played his final four holes at one-under to remain in the top-10 position. Ege birdied the par-4, 371-yard No. 15 and the par-4, 491-yard No. 17 in round two.
 
Ege is one of eight golfers tied for seventh as they all sit seven shots off the lead.
 
Stanford's Karl Vilips tied for the lowest round of the day at 4-under 68 and is the leader at 7-under-par 137 through 36 holes. Vilips has a five-shot lead over Virginia's George Duangmanee and Ohio State's Adam Wallin who are both at 2-under-par 142. A group of three golfers are tied for fourth at 1-under-par 143.
 
Following his 1-over 73, Forrester – making his NCAA Championship debut – moved 45 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 67th at 7-over-par 151. Forrester began the day with a birdie on the par-4, 415-yard No. 1 and then went on to tally 15 pars and two bogeys.
 
ETSU's other two countable scores came from Matty Dodd-Berry and Remi Chartier. Dodd-Berry posted a 2-over 74 and Chartier finished with a 5-over 77. Dodd-Berry is tied with Forrester in 67th after climbing 30 spots up the leaderboard.
 
After seeing a scoring average of 75.84 in the opening round, scores slightly lowered on Saturday at 75.72. The average score through the first two rounds is at 75.78.
 
The Bucs tee off in Sunday's third round starting at 10:57 a.m. ET. ETSU will be grouped with Baylor and Tennessee.
 
Fans can follow live scoring all weekend at Golfstat.com.
 
For more information about ETSU men's golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and select men's golf.