Bears sit in ninth place after first day in Chandler

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Snowman Invitational stats (day one)

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- The Northern Colorado men's golf team finds itself in ninth place after the first day of action at the Washington State Snowman Getaway in Chandler, Ariz.

The Bears put together scores of 305 (+17) and 306 (+18) in the first and second rounds at the windy and rain-soaked Whirlwind Golf Club for a two-round score of 611 (+35). The team ended the first day in a log-jam, just several strokes behind sixth-place Boise State (+27).

Although the tournament began with decent weather, the conditions quickly took a turn for the worse as the Bears reached the middle of the first round. With winds reaching up to 35 miles per hour and rain pounding the golfers, it became much more difficult to post low numbers.

"We failed to take advantage of some good weather early in the morning," said Northern Colorado head coach Chuck Scheinost. "We got into the tough part of the course and weather really got nutty. I didn't think the weather could get much worse than last week (at the Rice Intercollegiate), but the rain really made it tough."

Junior Steve Bidne leads the Bears after posting a first-day score of 148 (+4). Bidne started the first round a bit slow, finishing with a 5-over par 78, but after a strong second round 1-under par 71, Bidne heads into the final round in a tie for 12th place.

"Steve (Bidne) was really a bright spot for us this afternoon," Scheinost said. "His 1-under par 71 was tied for the lowest in the second round.

"I'm frustrated because we just need that one spark, one good round to put us back on our feet and get us going in the right direction."

Idaho University leads the tournament after the first day of action, posting a two-round score of 582 (+6), while host-school Washington State is in second (+8). Missouri's Jace Long, Washington State's Nick Ellis, and Missouri-Kansas City's Brett Iliff are tied for the individual lead, each posting two-round scores of 141 (-3).

The Bears' Nick Bisogno finished the first two rounds with a score of 152 (+8) after putting together a pair of 4-over par 76s. Bisogno goes into the final round in a tie for 25th place.

Fellow junior Troy Sidabras finds himself tied for 39th after putting together a total score of 155 (+11) in the first day. Sidabras finished the first round with a 5-over par 77 and put together a 6-over par 78 in the second.

Rich Lash, a senior, ended his first day at Chandler with a two-round score of 156 (+12), while teammate Kevin Collignon finished with a 170 (+26).

With weather conditions predicted to improve in the final day, Scheinost is optimistic his team can make a move to the front of the pack.

"We are in position to catch several teams that are ahead of us as long as we put together a good round and make some things happen," he said. "We are definitely going to try and get our legs under us, and I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings."