CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Augusta State posted a two-under 282 Friday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA East Regional hosted by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga at Council Fire Golf Club.
The Jaguars, who had to deal with much tougher playing conditions in the afternoon than in Thursday’s opening round, booked the second-best round among the afternoon wave of teams and held on to their second-place position in the 27-team field.
ASU sophomore Mitch Krywulycz and freshman Henrik Norlander carded a pair of one-under 70’s while senior Keith Guest, junior Tarik Can and sophomore Jake Amos each booked an even-par 71. In 36 previous NCAA Regional rounds, the Jags had never had all five players in the lineup shoot even par or better in the same round.
ASU’s two-day total of 13-under 555 is second only to Georgia, the top-ranked team in the nation according to Golfstat. The Bulldogs tallied a 13-under 271 and stand at 536 (32-under-par) heading into Saturday’s final round.
Norlander is tied for fourth place at seven-under 135 (65-70) while Can is tied for 16th at three-under 139 (68-71). Krywulycz (70-70) and Guest (70-71) are tied for 25th and 36th respectively at two-under 142 and one-under 143, respectively. Amos is tied for 81st at four-over 146 (75-71).
Auburn and UC-Irvine are tied for third place at 10-under, three shots back of ASU, while Mississippi State is in fifth, five shots behind the Jags at -8.UAB and New Mexico State are tied for sixth at -7 while host Chattanooga and Charlotte are tied for eighth. Middle Tennessee and Michigan State are tied for 10th at four-under 564.
UAB’s Zach Sucher turned in the round of the day, matching the competitive course record with a nine-under 62. His round equaled Ed Dougherty’s round from the 1992 Chattanooga Classic PGA Tour event. Sucher now stands at 11-under par 131, two shots ahead of Georgia’s Hudson Swafford and three ahead of Georgia’s Russell Henley.
“We didn’t finish off the round the way we would’ve liked but at the same time, that is tough closing stretch of holes,” said ASU head coach Josh Gregory. “We’re still in a terrific position and we did a lot of things well today on a much tougher golf course. We’re excited about our opportunity tomorrow.”
ASU will be paired with Georgia and 16th-ranked Auburn for the third and final round beginning at 7:00 a.m. Amos will lead the Jags out on the course at 7:00 a.m., followed by Guest at 7:09, Krywulycz at 7:19, Can at 7:28 and Norlander at 7:38 a.m.
Live scoring of all three NCAA Regionals is available at www.golfstat.com.
Notes: ASU is making its 10th NCAA Regional appearance in the last 11 years … The Jaguars are competing in the NCAA Regional for the 13th time in the last 16 years … In nine of its previous 12 trips, ASU has advanced to the NCAA Championships, the last time being in 2005 … The Jags, who entered the regional as the No. 17 seed in the 27-team field, were made an at-large selection on Monday, May 5 by the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee in Indianapolis, Ind…. Council Fire Golf Club is a Robert Cupp design that opened in 1992 … The Jags are making their first East Regional appearance since 2004 … ASU made three straight trips to the East Regional between 2002 and 2004 before being shipped to the Central Regional in 2005 and to the West Regional last season … ASU is looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in 13 NCAA Regional appearances … Each of the three NCAA Regionals (East, Central and West) consists of 27 teams and six individuals not on the selected teams … The top 10 teams and top two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the NCAA Championships … The NCAA Championships is slated for May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., and hosted by Purdue University.
NCAA East Regional
Council Fire Golf Club
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Par 71 – 6,961 yards
May 15-17, 2008
Augusta State Individual Results
t4. Henrik Norlander 65-70=135 -7
t16. Tarik Can 68-71=139 -3
t25. Mitch Krywulycz 70-70=140 -2
t36. Keith Guest 70-71=141 -1
t81. Jake Amos 75-71=146 +4
Team Results
1. Georgia 265-271=536 -32
2. AUGUSTA STATE 273-282=555 -13
3. Auburn 281-277=558 -10
UC-Irvine 283-275=558 -10
5. Mississippi State 278-282=560 -8
6. UAB 287-274=561 -7
New Mexico State 280-281=561 -7
8. Chattanooga 282-281=563 -5
Charlotte 281-282=563 -5
10. Michigan State 285-279=564 -4
Middle Tennessee 278-286=564 -4
12. Duke 286-282=568 E
13. East Tennessee State 286-283=569 +1
14. SMU 276-295=571 +3
15. Virginia Tech 281-291=572 +4
16. Georgia State 287-286=573 +5
Virginia 286-287=573 +5
18. Western Carolina 285-289=574 +6
19. Colorado State 282-293=575 +7
North Carolina State 279-296=575 +7
21. Coastal Carolina 285-291=576 +8
22. Memphis 289-291=580 +12
23. South Carolina 288-293=581 +13
North Florida 293-288=581 +13
25. Mississippi 293-291=584 +16
26. Western Illinois 293-292=585 +17
27. Jackson State 302-334=636 +68