Guilford Fifth Halfway Through NCAA Division III Golf Championships
Carmel, Ind. (5/16/07) -- Guilford College's men's golf team shot 311 Wednesday and climbed three spots into fifth place after the second of four rounds at the 35-team NCAA Division III Golf Championship. The Quakers share the fifth spot with Emory University and trail leader St. John's University (Minn.) by 18 strokes after the Johnnies turned in their second straight round of 300. Guilford played on the Prairie View Golf Club Wednesday after playing Tuesday's round at the Hawthorns Golf and Country Club. The Quakers' 311 marked the second-lowest score among the 18 teams playing Prairie View Wednesday.
Guilford is ranked second in the May 16 Golf World/NIKE Division III Coaches' Poll. The Quakers are after their third national title in six years after winning the 2005 and 2002 NCAA titles.
Senior Joseph Poplin led the Quakers' charge with a one-over-par 73 Wednesday. He birdied three of the first four holes after making the turn and the day's low score among 90 competitors on the Prairie View course. The 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year climbed 32 rungs on the individual leaderboard into a share for ninth place with a two-round 150. Guilford senior Colin Clark, the 2005 national champion, and freshman Brian Creghan both shot 79 Tuesday. Clark made three birdies Wednesday, but also had three double bogeys and four bogeys. With a two-day score of 160, he shares 75th place among individuals with freshman teammate Peter Latimer, who struggled to an 86 Wednesday after an opening-round 74. Creghan's round included an eagle on the 520-yard, par-5 seventh hole, Prairie View's only eagle of the day. Sophomore Burton Wood shot 80 Wednesday and shares 31st place with a two-day 155.
St. John's Clinton Dammann and Andrew Longbella occupy the top-two spots among the 180 individuals. Dammann fired a one-under 71 Wednesday on the Hawthorns course and holds a four-shot lead over his teammate with one-under 143 for the tournament. Longbella shot 73 Wednesday and shares the second spot with Huntingdon College's Jacob Collinsworth and first-round leader Rode McElreath of McMurry University. McElreath shot 78 on Prairie View after shooting a three-under 69 Tuesday at Hawthorns.
The top-23 teams after 36 holes advance to the final two rounds, which will be played Thursday and Friday on the Hawthorns course. Top-ranked Methodist University, a nine-time NCAA Division III national champion, was among the notable schools to miss the first cut in the tourney's 33-year history. Salem State University edged the Monarchs by one stroke in a playoff to secure the final spot.