Tuesday, May 3, 2016

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Western Washington men’s golf team looked like a completely different group in round two.

After finishing in 19th place after round one of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf West/South Central Super Regional, the Vikings responded in round two by cutting down 21 total strokes to shoot 287. The score was one of the lowest of the round and while it only moved the Vikings up to 17th place, it closed the gap that was created after round one.

The Vikings were led in the second round by junior Chris Hatch, who shot 1-under-par 70 and is tied for 31st place. The overall team improvement was prevalent as junior Brett Johnson and freshman Michael Butler carded scores of 1-over-par 72 and junior Jeffrey Marcum shot 2-over-par 73. Freshman Chris Hatch improved by two strokes to shoot a 77.

Simon Fraser started the day in 14th place, but fell behind Western Washington to 18th place after shooting 303 as a team. Senior Kevin Vigna continues to lead the team in 13th place after carding a score of even-par 71. Sophomore Chris Crisologo is tied for 31st after shooting 2-over-par 73 in the second round. Sophomore Marcus Brown shot 78, followed by freshman Michael Caan at 81 and senior Bret Thompson at 85.

The top five teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional will advance to the finals May 17-21, at Green Valley Ranch in Denver, Colorado.