April 29, 2006

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WINDSOR, Colo. - The University of Northern Colorado men's golf team overcame a five stroke first round deficit to take a one stroke lead over Francis Marion entering Sunday's final round of the 2006 Division I Independent Golf Championships being held at Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club.

Francis Marion fired a season-low round of 284 on Friday, but windy conditions caused them to shoot 17 strokes higher on Saturday, as the host Bears jumped into the lead entering Sunday's final 18 holes.

But it is Utah Valley State's Nic Van Vuuren that is leading the competition, as he had a 4-under round of 68 on Saturday to take a four stroke lead over Francis Marion's Aengus McAllister. Northern Colorado's Eric Higgins shot a 71 on Saturday and is third, while Northern Colorado freshman Jordan Ensrud and North Dakota State's Eric Johnson are tied for fourth at +1. Day one leader Adam Hart of Francis Marion shot a 5-over round on Saturday and is tied for sixth with Texas-Pan American's Shane Pearce.

In the team standings, South Dakota State is in third place, 15 strokes behind the leader. North Dakota State is a stroke back of their rival, Utah Valley State is fifth, Texas-Pan American is sixth and Sacramento State is seventh.

For Northern Colorado, senior Tim Knight had a round of 76 on Saturday and is in eighth place, making it three Bears golfers in the top 10. Junior Kyle Sullivan is 12th, while Tom Gempel is 26th.

Northern Colorado's Eric Doyle, playing as an individual, was second after day one, but shot a 6-over 78 on Saturday to slip to 10th. Other Bears individuals include Mike Martin (30th), Jon Stecher (30th), Kyle Burns (33rd), Doug Sutter (36th), Derek Hofmeister (37th) and Ryan Husted (39th).

The final round of play begins at 7:30 a.m. MT on Sunday.

Northern Colorado Individual Scores

 3. Eric Higgins            72-71  143 (-1)
 4. Jordan Ensrud           74-71  145 (+1)
 8. Tim Knight              71-76  147 (+3)
12. Kyle Sullivan           72-77  149 (+5)
26. Tom Gempel              74-78  152 (+8)

10. Eric Doyle *            70-78  148 (+4)
30. Mike Martin *           79-75  154 (+10)
30. Jon Stecher *           77-77  154 (+10)
33. Kyle Burns *            78-77  155 (+11)
36. Doug Sutter *           76-81  157 (+13)
37. Derek Hofmeister *      80-78  158 (+14)
39. Ryan Husted *           79-80  159 (+15)

* Playing as individuals

Team Standings

1. Northern Colorado        289-295  584 (+8)
2. Francis Marion U.        284-301  585 (+9)
3. South Dakota State U     294-305  599 (+23)
4. North Dakota St. U.      299-301  600 (+24)
5. Utah Valley State        308-297  605 (+29)
6. Texas Pan American       295-311  606 (+30)
7. Sacramento State         306-306  612 (+36)