EAGLE, Idaho — The Utah Valley University men's golf team sits in fifth place after two rounds of play at Boise State's Dash Thomas Memorial at the BanBury Golf Course in Eagle, Idaho. The Wolverines, who are just 13 shots back of first-place Sacramento State, will conclude the tournament with 18 final holes of golf beginning Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
"We had three guys play pretty solid in each round. We are still searching for a fourth score however," head men's golf coach Chris Curran said. "The pins were tucked and very difficult today. We've got to do a better job of keeping the ball in play off the tee."
Junior Brayden Eriksen leads the Wolverines after he carded a 2-under par on Monday. Eriksen shot a season-best 68 (-3) in the first round before firing a 1-over 72 in the second. Eriksen enters Tuesday's final round in a tie for seventh place.
"Brayden had a very solid day. Take away three swings and it could have been really low," Curran said. "He's playing with a lot of confidence right now."
The Wolverines sit in fifth place with a total of 579. In-state rival Utah State is in second place at 570 while fellow WAC foes Idaho and Seattle U are in third (572) and fourth (577), respectively. Five other teams trail UVU by just three points as Stetson is in sixth with 580, Southern Utah and Cal State Fullerton are tied for seventh (581), and Concordia and Grand Canyon are tied for ninth (582). Weber State (590) and host Boise State (596) round out the field.
Wolverine junior Preston Richards and sophomore Corey Eccles are UVU's second and third best scorers, as they currently sit in 21st and 33rd place, respectively. Richards, who shot a 5-over 76 in round one, battled back with a 2-under 69 on Monday afternoon for a grand total of 145 (+3). Eccles holds a total of 149 (+7) after respective rounds of 72 (+1) and 77 (+6).
Rounding out the field for Utah Valley are sophomore Noah Cook and junior Michael Dart who are tied for 41st place at +9 (151).
The BanBury Golf Course is being played at a par 71 and at 6,890 yards for the tournament.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit www.WolverineGreen.com.