May 19, 2006

TUCSON, Ariz. - The Baylor men's golf team played very well in spots, but were victimized by a few costly holes Friday and shot 294 to wrap up round two tied for 19th with a total of 583 at the 7,200-yard, par-72 Omni Tucson National Golf Club.

Senior Ryan Baca (Richmond, Texas) posted another solid round below par and is currently tied for 10th and would hold one of the two individual invitations to the NCAA Championships if the championship ended now. Baca eagled the par-5 second and had four straight pars before a bogey on seven. Over the next 10 holes, he shot 2-under par with birdies on eight and 10, before finishing the day with a bogey on 18 for a round of 2-under par 70.

Junior Jeremy Alcorn (Brownwood, Texas) had a roller coaster day beginning with birdies on two and three. Alcorn ran into trouble with a triple bogey on four, but roared back with birdies on six and seven and an eagle on the par-5 eighth to make the turn at 3-under par. He parred holes nine through 14, but bogeyed 15, 17 and double bogeyed 18 to finish at 1-over par 73.

Junior Chase Thomas (Dallas, Texas) was even-par through 11 holes and had birdies on three and five. He double-bogeyed 12 and bogeyed 13, then came back with a birdie on 16 to finish at 2-over par 74.

Junior Jeremy Frye (Palestine, Texas) battled back from a double bogey on two and a bogey on five to card back-to-back birdies on nine and 10 to get back to 1-over par. From there, Frye took three straight bogeys and finished with another on 18 for a round of 5-over par 77.

Redshirt freshman Carmine Mediate (Southlake, Texas) double-bogeyed the first, but came right back with a birdie on two. He then bogeyed five, seven and nine to finish out the front nine, then began the back with a birdie on the 10th. Mediate double-bogeyed 11 and bogeyed 15 before finishing with a double bogey on 18 for a round of 80.

Arizona, North Carolina State and Arizona State each shot 15-under par 273 to reel first-day leader Florida back into the team race. Arizona took over the top spot at 24-under par 552, three strokes ahead of Florida and North Carolina State, while Arizona State is just five strokes back. Baylor is 14 strokes out of the coveted top 10.

Utah's Dustin Pimm continues to lead at 10-under par 134, one stroke ahead of North Carolina State's Nathan Spoon at 9-under par 135, who is one stroke ahead of East Tennessee State's Rhys Davies and Gareth Shaw. Baca trails by a stroke a group of five players tied for fifth at 7-under par.

The top 10 teams and two individuals advance to the 2006 NCAA Men's Golf Championships May 31-June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. The Bears have qualified for regionals each of the last nine years, but last appeared at the NCAA Championships in 2002.

Baylor Individual Scores
T10. Ryan Baca         68-70=138
T88. Jeremy Alcorn     75-73=148
T94. Chase Thomas      75-74=149
T94. Jeremy Frye       72-77=149
T129. Carmine Mediate  74-80=154