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May 21, 2009
IUP junior Gavin Smith turned in his second straight under par round to vault into a tie for second following the third round of the NCAA golf tournament at the Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash. Smith, the reigning PSAC Golfer of the Year and a strong candidate again this season, followed up his two-under par score of 69 Wednesday by carding a 70 Thursday for a total of two-over par 215 for the championship. He is tied with Steve Cuzzort of Wayne State two strokes behind leader Gene Webster of Cal State-San Bernardino. Smith's second round score of 69 is the second lowest of the tournament so far, with two other golfers posting rounds of 68. His score of 139 over the second and third rounds is two shots better than anyone else in the field over those 36 holes. Behind Smith's performance, IUP enters the final round of the tournament in 12th place in the team standings with a score of 909, just one shot behind Northeastern State and two shy of Cal State-Stanislaus. IUP's best showing at the national tournament in 16 years under head coach Fred Joseph was 12th in 1993. The Crimson Hawks earned a berth in the 20-team tournament on the strength of their second consecutive Super Regional championship earlier this month in Daniels, W.Va. IUP is in the NCAA tournament for the 13th consecutive season and is at nationals for the sixth time under Joseph. Also competing for IUP are Brad Boyle (227, tied for 41st), Cory Stelick (232, 71st), Ryan Kennedy (235, tied for 79th) and Leo Acklin (247, 101st). The 72-hole event concludes Friday. |
