March 13, 2010
Pinehurst, N.C. - With the conclusion of the second round at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate by Gatorade, the Nittany Lions prevailed as the leaders with a two- stroke cushion ahead of the packed field. Penn State united on crucial holes and finished strong to earn a 4- over par seat heading into the third and final round. The Nittany Lions have carded rounds of 288-292 (580). No. 40 Virginia Tech sits behind Penn State at 6- over par. The Hokies carded rounds of 290-292 (582) to jump Eastern Kentucky for second place.
"We started slow today, rallied, lost it a little, and then finished strong," said head coach Greg Nye. "It was windy all day, which made it tough, but we fought it to the end. The team came through when Kevin had a slightly off day, and that was huge for us."
Junior Tommy McDonagh (Wilton, Conn.) catapulted himself into fourth place after sinking birdies on holes 16 and 17 giving him a 1-under finish on the day. His two-stroke improvement from round one has placed him as leader for the Nittany Lions at even par, 144, just three strokes back from tournament leaders Mikey Moyers and Sam Wall.
"Tommy and Kevin are within a couple shots of the lead, and are both capable of making a run," said Nye.
Senior Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.) continued to compete at the top of the leaderboard tying for sixth after the second round. The No. 44 ranked Nittany Lion sits at 1- over par entering into the final 18 with rounds of 68-77 (145). T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa) will join Foley in the sixth position after a 1- over par two-day total. Howe left the links sinking three birdies in his 1- over par performance including a fantastic birdie on 18.
Ernesto Marin (Miami, Fla.) carded a 1- over par, two-stroke improvement from his first-round score. Marin's 73-75 (148) two-day total hurdled him into the No. 20 slot. Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.) finished out the day at 3- over par, 75. Markovitz will enter the final round tied for 46 with a two-day total 152. Penn State's individual participant, Nick Archambault (Q.C., Canada) carded a six- stroke improvement from his initial 18 to finish today at 4- over par, 76. Archambault will enter the final round at 14- over par (158).
Virginia Tech's Moyers and Old Dominion's Wall enter the final 18 tied for first at 3- under par. Moyer's jump from second place came after his 72- stroke performance today, giving him a 141 total. Wall finished the day at 2- under par earning him a two-round card of 71-70 (141).
The final round on the No. 8 Pinehurst will continue tomorrow, March 14 at 9 a.m. The Nittany Lions will again tee off No. 1 beginning at 10:39 a.m. The awards ceremony and trophy presentation will take place immediately following the conclusion of the round. For live scoring visit GolfStat and for continual Nittany Lion updates visit GoPSUSports.com You can also follow the Nittany Lions on Twitter.