Bethany Lutheran and Minnesota Morris close in on lead in day two of UMAC Men's Golf Championship
UMAC Men's Golf Championship Information
BREEZY POINT, MINN. – Battling cold temperatures and strong winds for the second consecutive day, Bethany Lutheran College and the University of Minnesota-Morris narrowed the lead of front-runner North Central University to set up an exciting final day of the 2012 UMAC Men’s Golf Championship. Leading Bethany Lutheran by 10 strokes and Minnesota-Morris by 20 strokes entering day two, North Central saw their lead disappear as the Rams posted a 342 team score on Friday, while Bethany Lutheran owned a 334 team score and Minnesota-Morris finished with a 332 team mark, representing the best team round of the day and the tournament to date. All three teams appear primed to make a run at the conference title on Saturday with North Central boasting a two-day total of 679, followed by Bethany Lutheran, who stands just two strokes back at 681, and Minnesota-Morris holding third place with a two-day total of 689. Minnesota-Morris shaved 25 strokes off their team score from the first day.
On Saturday, the Bethany Lutheran Vikings and Minnesota-Morris Cougars will try to end North Central’s three-year run as the winner of the UMAC championship. The past two years, the Rams have taken leads of 29 strokes and 25 strokes respectively into the final round so this year’s quest for another conference title will have a much different feel entering the last 18 holes.
Northwestern College, who was in third place at the end of the opening round, recorded a team score of 352 for the second consecutive day and stands in fourth place overall with a 704 mark. Crown College (367 second round/747) and Martin Luther College (398 second round/799) round out the field of team competitors.
Bethany Lutheran College freshman Josh Willis boasted the best round of the day, carding an impressive 78 despite less than ideal weather conditions. Willis started the day with a 39 on the front nine and finished six over par for the day. Willis is also the individual leader after two rounds, shooting an 81-78 for a two-day total of 159. A pair of University of Minnesota-Morris athletes in Collin Anderson and Josh Littman each posted second round scores of 81 to follow Willis for the top individual performances of day two. Anderson, a two-time all-conference selection, stands in third place overall as an individual with rounds of 82-81 for a 163. Willis and Anderson each have recorded four birdies in the tournament.
North Central University standout Taylor Murphy led the Rams on Friday, entering the clubhouse with an 83. The two-time all-conference honoree stands in second place overall for the tournament with a scorecard reading 79-83 and 162 for the two-day total. The top eight individual finishers will receive all-conference recognition at the conclusion of tomorrow final round.
The final day of the UMAC Championship will start at 11:02 am with the first of ten tee times. The winner of the Championship will secure the UMAC’s automatic qualifier to the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship.