Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
National Invitational Tournament
'Cats in Ninth After 36 Holes at the NIT
4/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 2, 2007
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Led by the "Dublin Duo" of Chris Wilson (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) and Kyle Moore (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto), Northwestern's men's golf team shot a 5-over 581 (285-296=581) for 36 holes on Monday and finds itself in ninth place with one round remaining at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz.
Playing against some of the top teams in the country, the Wildcats began the day with a solid first round, shooting a 3-under 285 -- their fourth under-par round of the season -- which put them in sixth place after the opening round. The conditions were more difficult for the second round, as the 'Cats shot an 8-over 296 and fell to ninth place with their 581 total.
The 'Cats trail eighth-place New Mexico by five shots and are two shots clear of 25th-ranked and 10th-place Duke. After day one, the Wildcats, who are ranked 37th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Index, are ahead of three other top-50 teams: No. 22 Texas, No. 38 Texas Tech and No. 40 Pepperdine.
Northwestern is 17 shots off the pace set by No. 17 Tulsa, which leads the tournament at 12-under par after 36 holes.
The "Dublin Duo" of Wilson and Moore paced the 'Cats on day one, as both shot 1-under 143 for Monday's 36 holes and are tied for 14th heading into the final round. Wilson led the Wildcats in the opening round with a 3-under 69 that matched his season-best round. The junior Moore was right on Wilson's heels in round one, shooting a season-best round of 2-under 70.
Moore caught Wilson on the leaderboard at the end of the second round, shooting a 1-over 73 while Wilson shot a 2-over 74.
Junior Dan Doyle (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) led the Wildcats in the second round, rebounding from an opening-round 78 to shoot an even-par 72 for a total of 6-over 150. Northwestern's co-leaders in stroke average, freshman Jonathan Bowers (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) and senior David Merkow (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead Union), are one shot behind Doyle at 7-over 151 after 36 holes.
The 'Cats will be one of the first teams on the course Tuesday morning as they look to make a charge up the leaderboard. Starting with the senior Merkow, the 'Cats will be in the first five groups off the first tee at 8 a.m. CT.
Live stats for the final round of the National Invitational Tournament can be found at National Invitational Tournament.
