Eagles Jump in Standings at Golfweek Conference Challenge
9/1/2009 2:14:00 AM | Men's Golf
RIVERSIDE, Iowa - The Georgia Southern men's golf team shaved 15 strokes off its opening round score to jump two spots in the Golfweek Conference Challenge Monday (August 31) at the Blue Top Ride Golf Course. Senior Ryan Zabroske trimmed his scorecard by four strokes to tally a sub-par second round with a 2-under par 70, a collegiate low for the senior. Zabroske's second round jumped him from a tie for 30th to a share of 13th-place.
The Eagles, after shooting a 3-over par second round, head into Tuesday's final round of play standing in 12th place. Baylor slipped from first place to third after co-host Iowa fired an 8-under par second round, putting the Hawkeyes in the lead. Iowa holds a four stroke advantage to second-place Florida State.
Zabroske again took the lead for the Eagles, carding four birdies over 18 holes. The Alpharetta, Ga., native fired identical front and back nines at 1-under 35 for a 2-under second round. Zabroske rounded out the day with a birdie on eight followed by a par on hole 9 to secure his sub-par tally. The senior's two-day total 144 places him in a tie for 13th.
Removing four strokes from his opening round score, senior Spencer Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) turned in a 1-over par second round. Fulford got off to a rough start bogeying the first hole, but rebounded with a birdie on hole 12. The Eagle made the turn at 1-over after repeating his performance on holes 13 and 15. Fulford pared the front nine to close the 1-over par 73 scorecard. Fulford moved up to a 50th-place tie at 150.
Teammates Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) and Joe Monte (Chantilly, Va.) both posted 2-over par 74s. Deal, who witnessed the most improvement after the opening round, gained a five stroke advantage to his first round 7-over 79. Deal launched four birdies in his second round as Monte split two birdies over the front- and back-nines. Monte is tied for 54th at 151, while Deal moved up two spots to a tie for 60th with a 153.
Junior Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.) rounded out the starting five for the Eagles. Blondell stumbled in his second round, shooting an 86 to slip into 75th place.
The final round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge begins Tuesday with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Fans can follow the action live at www.GolfStat.com.
Team Results
1. Iowa-288-280=568
2. Florida State-287-285=572
3. Baylor-280-295=575
4. Coastal Carolina-292-284=576
5. Vanderbilt-293-285=578
6. Middle Tennessee State-285-294=579
7. Xavier-290-291=581
8. California-296-288=584
9. VCU-299-290=589
10. Illinois State-298-294=592
11. Texas-Arlington-297-297=594
12. Georgia Southern-306-291=597
13. New Mexico State-297-301=598
14. Memphis-302-299=601
15. South Florida-310-294=604
Georgia Southern Individuals
T13. Ryan Zabroske-74-70=144
T50. Spencer Fulford-77-73=150
T54. Joe Monte-77-74=151
T60. Matt Deal-79-74=153
75. Logan Blondell-7886=164
