BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Schreiner fired the lowest second round team score in the entire field on Wednesday and rocketed 10 spots up the leaderboard to sit in fifth, making the cut and advancing to play the final 36 holes over the next two days at the NCAA Division III Championships at Boulder Creek Golf Club. Live Stats
The Mountaineers posted a second round team score of 280 to bring their two round total to 572, 4-under par and just nine shots off the leaders, Redlands that stand at 563 (-13) following the first two rounds of competition. Schreiner leads the field with 39 birdies through the first two rounds and is currently tied for second in par 3 scoring (3.03) and third in par four scoring (4.07). The Mountaineers vault of 10 spots up the leaderboard was the fourth largest jump of any team in the field on Wednesday.
This year marks the first time since 2014-15 the SCAC has seen a team make the cut in back-to-back NCAA Championships. Last year both Trinity and St. Thomas made the cut. Schreiner made the cut in back-to-back years back in 2014 and 2015.
Individually, the Mountaineers feature three athletes inside the top-35 going into the final two rounds, led by Drew Hermesmeyer, who currently sits tied for fifth with a two day total of 139 (73-66). Hermesmeyer fired the lowest second round in the field, posting a 6-under, 66, rocketing 57 spots up the leaderboard. His 11 birdies are the second most in the field, while his par 4 scoring (3.90) and his par 3 scoring (2.88) rank tied for third and tied for fifth respectively among all golfers. Hermesmeyer enters the third round just three shots off the currently leader, Michael O’Sullivan of Oglethorpe who sits at 8-under par with a two round total of 136.
Rounding out the Mountaineers inside the top-35 are Jake Sitterle and John Martinez who are both currently tied for 31st with two day totals of 144 (E). Sitterle, whose 10 birdies are tied for the third most in the field through two rounds and his par five scoring average of 4.50 is ranked tied for 12th fired a second round score of 70 (-2). Martinez is currently pacing the field with 28 pars and is tied for fifth in par three scoring (2.88), shot 1 1-under round of 71 on day two.
The two SCAC individuals competing for medalist honors in Trinity’s Jacob Mason and Centenary’s Andrew Bennett saw their seasons come to close following the midway-point cutoff after both came up short of being one of the top six individuals not on one of the 18 advancing teams to move on to the final two rounds.
Mason finished just three shots outside the individual cut line after firing a two-day total of 147 (76-71) to post +3. Mason’s second round of 1-under put him in contention to make the cut, jumping 63 spots up the leaderboard following the opening round but ultimately finished just outside the cutline. Bennett withdrew from the Championship following an opening round of 74 due to illness.
Schreiner continues to vie for the program’s second men’s golf national title on Thursday as the Mountaineers are scheduled to tee off third round action at 8:45 local time, on hole one of the Boulder Creek Course. The Mountaineers will be paired with competitors from defending national champions, Carnegie Mellon and Emory.
