Wonder Boys drop to fourth in national championship hunt

DANIELS, W.Va. -- The top three teams in Division II turned in impressive team cards as they skyrocketed up the leaderboard to take the top three spots in the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship at the Resort at Glade Springs Tuesday.

No. 1 Barry finished the day with a 16-under 272 to move from seventh to first, No. 2 Lynn shot an 11-under 277 to improve to second and No. 3 West Florida turned in a 7-under 281 to take third after two rounds. No. 25 Arkansas Tech shot a 1-over 289 to drop to fourth from second.

Senior Jorge Garcia, the top Division II golfer, led Barry with nine birdies on the day for a 6-under 66 as the team card featured 24 birdies and eight bogeys. The team's fifth player balanced three birdies with four bogeys for a 1-over 73. Garcia improved to third after sitting 39th after the first round.

Arkansas Tech junior Shawn Tsai dropped from the lead to a six-way tie for fifth with a 2-over 74 Tuesday. Tsai went 1-over on the back nine before struggling on the third hole with a double-bogey, but a birdie on the seventh left him at 1-over 37. He still leads the team with a 3-under 141 after two rounds.

Redshirt junior Austin Gean turned his game around with a pair of eagles along with three birdies to finish tied for fifth at 3-under 69. After a bogey on his opening hole, Gean dropped to 3-under for the day by the 14th hole with two birdies on 11 and 14 and an eagle on the 501-yard 12. A double-bogey on No. 18 dropped him to 1-under 35 before taking a 2-under 34 on the front nine.

Freshman Andre Jacobs struggled on the back nine before finishing the round with a 2-over 74 to drop into a 10-way tie for 43rd. The No. 130 Division II golfer went 3-over 39 on the back nine with two double bogeys and a bogey against two birdies, but he shot a 1-under 35 on the front nine.

Twin Francois Jacobs improved nine spots to a 12-way tie for 53rd with an even-par 72. He shot a pair of bogeys against a birdie to drop to 1-over 37 on the back nine, but he shot a pair of birdies against a bogey on the front nine for a 1-under 35.

Redshirt sophomore Kellen Gray turned in a 2-over 74 to drop to a six-way tie for 70th. Gray dropped two bogeys on the back nine for a 2-over 38, but he had three birdies and three bogeys on the front to balance an even-par 36 on the front.

Teams were reseeded after Tuesday's round, pairing Arkansas Tech with Grand Valley State and Missouri-St. Louis. The teams will tee off on the first hole with Gray paired with GVSU's Owen Rush and UMSL's Chris Ferris at noon EDT. Francois Jacobs tees off at 12:11 p.m. EDT with GVSU's Eric Nunn and UMSL's Miguel Maisterra.

Andre Jacobs is paired with GVSU's Bryce Messner and UMSL's Michael Brothers for a 12:22 p.m. EDT tee. Tsai is set for a 12:33 p.m. EDT tee time with GVSU's Mitchell White and UMSL's Joel Sylven, and Gean tees off at 12:44 p.m. with GVSU's Alex Scott and UMSL's Reilly Ahearn.

No. 15 Missouri-St. Louis and No. 5 Lincoln Memorial sit tied for fifth with a three-way tie for seventh between No. 4 Florida Southern, No. 21 Dixie State and No. 29 Grand Valley State. The top eight teams following today's round will advance to match play on Thursday. The individual winner will be awarded at the end of today's round.

The Wonder Boys advanced to the quarterfinals last year, and they reached the semifinals in 2017.

Sports on 05/22/2019

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