Oct. 25, 2008

• Columbia Invitational - Rd 2

GALLOWAY, N.J. - Battling rain and wind gusts throughout the day at the Galloway National Golf Course in New Jersey, the Navy golf team held its 13th-place position following the second round of competition at the Columbia Invitational. The Mids turned in a 38-over par 322 on Saturday for a two-round mark of 639 (+71).

The Mids, who own a 10-stroke lead over Villanova (326-323) and 12-stroke lead over Princeton (329-322), are still well within reach of a top-10 finish in the tournament. Navy trails Western Illinois (315-318), Connecticut (305-328) and Columbia (308-325), who are in a three-way tie for 10th, by six strokes and ninth-place Kennesaw State by nine strokes.

After a slow start in the first round, TCU and 10th-ranked Florida found their touch on the second day, pushing up to the front. The Horned Frogs own a two-day mark of 603 (+35), a six-stroke advantage over second-place Florida (305-304) who is 41-over par.

Penn's Michael Blodgett (71-75--146, +4) maintained the individual lead and stretched his advantage by three strokes over four players who are tied for second with a 7-over par 149.

For the Midshipmen, sophomore Marcus Heyland (Fort Madison, Iowa) moved into the top 30 following a 6-over par 77 in the second round. He owns a two-day score of 156 (+14) and is five strokes out of the top 10. Team captain David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio) fell back to 37th in the standings after struggling on Saturday. He turned in an 11-over par 82 in the second round and is three strokes behind Heyland on the leader board.

Sophomore Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) is in 47th with a two-round mark of 161 (+19), while senior Eric Stinson (Spotsylvania, Va.) stands 63rd (165, +23). Senior Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.) withdrew from the competition on Saturday after posting a 9-over par 80 on the opening day.

Navy freshman Collier Jones (Little Rock, Ark.), who is playing in the tournament as an individual, had an outstanding day on the links Saturday, turning in the low mark of any Navy player. After turning in a 15-over par 86 in the first round, Jones bounced back and shot a 4-over par 75 to jump from 75th to 47th in the standings with a two-round mark of 161 where he is tied with his teammate Hayes.

Tournament action concludes Sunday with a shotgun start scheduled for 9:00 am.

### Go Navy ###