Saulo makes move on day two at Jim Rivers

Monday, September 16

Choudrant, LA

All Day

Middle Tennessee

Jim Rivers Intercollegiate

Photo by: Tom Morris

9/16/2019 6:14:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: @MTAthletics

Round 2 Results
Round 3 Pairings

CHOUDRANT, La. – Middle Tennessee Men's Golf looked poised to make a run at the top of the leaderboard midway through the second round of the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate before a few late stumbles led to an even par round of 288 Monday at Squire Creek Country Club.

The Blue Raiders had the round of the day going through 12 holes of play and climbed into the Top 5 of the team leaderboard before finishing the day with a tough 6-hole stretch that saw them land in a tie for ninth place after two rounds in Louisiana.

"On the team side, through 12 holes today we were 12-under and had the round of the day going," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "Unfortunately we gave too many away down the stretch and ended up shooting even. Now the goal tomorrow is to come out and finish in the Top 5 and get some momentum going into the next tourney."

Redshirt junior Ilari Saulo remained a bright spot throughout the round for McEntire, playing 17 holes bogey free before dropping a stroke on the final hole of the day to post a stellar 4-under par 68 and move to 2-under for the tournament.

"What a great round today from Ilari," McEntire exclaimed. "68 was very solid and he made a nice jump and is in position to make a run at the individual championship."

The team-low scorecard vaulted Saulo 27 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 11^th with just four strokes separating him from individual leaders Try DePriest and Connor Futrell (-6).

Freshmen Michael Barnard and Mattias Varjun turned in improved rounds on the second competitive day of their collegiate careers, turning in scores of even par 72 and 1-over 73, respectively.

Senior Tanner Owens and sophomore Palmer Sadlowski each carded 3-over par rounds, however, Owens remains in the Top 20 in the field of 84 after a 3-under par round to start things off on Sunday.

Freshman Gavin Clements, who made the trip to compete as an individual, continues to impress at Squire Creek as he followed up a 1-under 71 with a 1-over 73 to sit tied for 19^th through 36 holes.

The Blue Raiders will tee off Tuesday in an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start on holes 10-14.

Live scoring for Tuesday's final round can be found at Golfstat.com.

For all the latest information on Middle Tennessee Men's Golf, follow the #BlueRaiders on Facebook (@MTMensGolf), Twitter (@MT_MGolf) and Instagram (MT_MGolf).