May 16, 2003
The Texas A&M men's golf team battled through intermittent rains and gusty winds to post a solid score of 297 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA Central Regional at Colbert Hills Golf Course.
The final round is scheduled for Saturday, with the top 10 teams advancing to the NCAA Championships May 27-30 in Stillwater, Okla. The Aggies begin play at 12:36 p.m.
A&M's 36-hole score of 296-297=593 is tied for 21st place, nine shots behind No. 14-ranked Minnesota, which is in 10th place with a 584 total.
"I'm proud of the way our guys battled in very tough conditions," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "I always think that if you are within 10 shots going into the final round of a tournament, then you still have a chance. We just need to come out and play great golf on Saturday."
The Aggies got solid efforts from the top of their lineup on Friday, with juniors Stephen Reed and David Tasker each posting one-over-par 73s. Both players struggled to 77s on Thursday.
"Stephen and David played a lot better today in tougher conditions," Higgins said. "I think they are both ready to break loose and put up some low numbers. I'm looking forward to watching them play the final round."
Overall, junior Parker Briley leads the Aggies after rounds of 72-75=147 and is tied for 48th place in the individual standings. Reed and Tasker, along with freshman Andrew Parr (74-76) are tied for 87th with 150 totals, while senior Shaun Helmle is tied for 134 at 73-85=158.
"I wanted to be more aggressive today," said Reed, an All-Big 12 pick this season. "I wasn't intense enough on Thursday. I'm pretty pleased with how I played in the windy conditions. We'll have to play hard and go get them tomorrow."
Illinois leads the team standings with a six-under-par total of 570, two strokes better than No. 19-ranked North Carolina State (572). Rounding out the top 10 are No. 5 Oklahoma State (574), Wichita State (577), No. 9 North Carolina (578), SMU (578), No. 20 Arkansas (578), Kentucky (581), No. 4 Texas (583) and No. 14 Minnesota (584).
Ohio State and Kent State are tied for 11th at 586, followed by TCU (587), Oklahoma (588), North Texas (588), Texas Tech (589), Lamar (589), Michigan State (589), Tulsa (590), Kansas State (592), Kansas (593), A&M (593), Wright State (594), Northwestern (595), Toledo (596), Missouri (598) and Baylor (602).
Wichita State's Judd Easterling (69-68) and North Carolina State's Jason Moon (66-71) are tied for the individual lead with seven-under-par totals of 137, two strokes better than a group of three players at 139.
"If we can shoot a few under par we'll be right there (for an NCAA berth)," Reed said. "With the final-day pressure, a lot of teams can fall back. We just have to play smart."
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