Oct. 13, 2008

• 2008 NSU Shark Invitational - Rd 1

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Navy, along with 14 other collegiate golf teams, weathered severe storms on Monday, getting in just 18 of the scheduled 36 holes on the opening day of the NSU Shark Invitational in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The two-day, 54-hole event will be shortened to 36 holes after storms swept through Florida, suspending play in the opening round and leading to the eventual cancellation of the second round.

Navy managed a 26-over par 314 to position itself in 12th place, seven strokes behind Eckerd College and Rutgers who are tied for 10th with a 19-over par 307. Meanwhile, the Mids hold a 5-stroke lead over Northwood University in 13th. Barry is atop the leader board as the only program to shoot under par, posting a 7-under par 281. Nova Southeastern University, the host institution, is in second place with its 2-over par 290, while Indianapolis University is five strokes back in third (295, +7).

Barry's Matt Jonah turned in a 3-under par 69 on Monday to pace the field, but is closely followed by teammates Carlos Velez and Chris Carlin, along with Indianapolis U.'s Justin Hueber who are a stroke behind at -2.

Two weeks after earning a sudden death playoff win to lead Navy to a victory over arch rival Army in the annual Star Match, senior Ryan Wielgus seems to have picked up where he left off. The Bethesda, Md., native is tied for 16th after the first round with a 2-over par 74. This is Wielgus' first tournament action of the fall after missing the first three events with a wrist injury.

Senior captain David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio) is in 39th after turning in a 5-over par 77. He turned in one of the strong back-nine scored with a 37. Meanwhile, classmate Eric Stinson (Spotsylvania, Va.) stands 55th after posting a 9-over par 81. In 60th is sophomore Rob Merkert (Severna Park, Md.) who is a stroke behind Stinson (82, +10), while second-year standout Josh Ziska (Camarillo, Calif.) closes out the Navy group with a 12-over par 84 (T66th).

The final round of the NSU Shark Invitational is scheduled to get underway Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.