Men's Golf In A Dogfight At West Regional
May 19, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - - After two rounds of the NCAA West Regional, the Oregon State men's golf team still finds itself on the outside looking in. The Beavers are in a three-way tie for 11th place, two shots shy of making the cut for the NCAA Championships with 18 holes to play on Saturday.
The Beavers shot a solid second round of 3-under-par 285 on Friday at the par 72 Riverbend Golf Course, but only the top-10 teams advance to Opelika, Ala., for the Championships. OSU, at even-par 576, is chasing California and Idaho, who are tied in ninth at 2-under-par 574. Washington is the next-closest team with a score of 7-under 569.
"Overall, I thought the guys did a pretty good job today," OSU coach Mike Ketcham said. "Our scores didn't go terribly low, but I liked our consistency. The kids are getting a good feel for the golfcourse. They kept the ball in play well, but we need to improve on the par-5 scoring."
Senior Dustin Wayne and sophomore John Lepak matched scores for the second consecutive day, each turning in a 1-under 71 to follow up their opening-round 70s. Both golfers are tied for 18th at 1-under 141.
Tim Mickelson cut seven strokes off Thursday's 78 with his 71 on Friday to put him in a tie for 81st at 149, while Anthony Arvidson played another consistent round with a 72 for a total of 145 and a tie for 51st.
Senior Bryan Geiberger brought his score down to a 73 on Friday after an 81 in the first round, and stands at 154.
"It's going to take a team effort tomorrow from all five guys, and it's really going to come down to almost a match-play situation with us, UCLA, and Stanford," Ketcham said. "I'm really proud of the kids today. They knew today was position-day for Nationals, and we put ourselves in a good position. Tomorrow, we go out and get it."
Brigham Young lost some ground Friday, but still holds a 1-shot lead over Arizona at 19-under-par. BYU was up four shots on the Wildcats after round one, but shot a 281 to UA's 278 in the second round. Host Fresno State and Southern California are three shots back of BYU at 560.
Arizona's Derek Gillespie, UCLA's Parker McLachlin, and USC's Alex Kuyumjian have crammed the top of the leader board in a tie for first at 5-under 137.
TEAM SCORES (par 576)
1. BYU 276-281--557, 2. Arizona 280-278--558, 3. Fresno State 281-279--560, 3. USC 285-275--560, 5. UNLV 283-281--564, 6. New Mexico 284-281--565, 7. Arizona State 281-287--568, 8. Washingon 283-286--569, 9. California 291-283--574, 9. Idaho 293-281--574, 11. Stanford 291-285--576, 11. UCLA 287-289--576, 11. Oregon State 291-285--576, 14. Pacific 293-286--579, 15. Oregon 290-292--582, 16. Pepperdine 297-286--583, 17. CSU-Northridge 302-284--586, 18. UTEP 294-293--587, 19. Colorado State 294-294--588, 20. San Diego State 297-297--594, 21. Wright State 304-296--600, 22. Long Beach State 309-303--612, 23. Princeton 315-299--614, 24. Navy 309-309--618, 25. Iona 309-314--623, 26. Towson 323-304--627, 27. Maryland-Baltimore 328-309--637.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES (par 72)
1. Derek Gillespie, Arizona 68-69--137, 1. Parker McLachlin, UCLA 67-70--137, 1. Alex Kuyumjian, USC 69-68--137, 4. Six players at 138.
OSU SCORES
T18. John Lepak 70-71--141, t18. Dustin Wayne 70-71--141, t51. Anthony Arvidson 73-72--145, t81. Bryan Geiberger 81-73--154.
