There is major news coming out of Reno.
The Boise State men’s golf team, which is seeded sixth in the Western
Athletic Conference, is all alone in second place after two rounds of the WAC
Tournament in Reno. Boise State set a school record today by shooting a 9-under par 279 to
move from fourth to second place with one round to go.
Host Nevada is in first place as expected with a team score of
554. The top-seeded Wolf Pack have a
ten-stroke lead on Boise State. Fresno State is two shots behind the Broncos with a 566, with Hawai’i one shot behind them.
The Broncos’ score of 279 beat the previous school
record for low-round at a conference championship by 10 strokes. Four Broncos are ranked in the top 15
individually.
Chris
Byrne is in fourth place with a 5-under, 139.
John Baranco shot a 73 today to move into a tie for 10th with
a 3-under par 141. Baranco is tied for
the team lead with nine birdies in the Tournament. Troy Merritt set a school record for
low-round at a conference championship with a 6-under 66 today. Merritt is tied for 12th place
going into tomorrow’s final round. Matt
Hastings is tied for 14th with a one-under 143.
The
results so far have broader implications for the WAC Commissioner’s Cup. Nevada and Boise State are battling for the
award presented annually to the school with the best overall sports program,
with the race too close to call. The Nevada golf team was supposed to finish five
spots ahead of Boise State, but unless there is a total
collapse by the Bronco golfers tomorrow, that may not happen.
Going
into golf, Boise State was clinging to a 4.25-point
lead over Nevada in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Nevada was expected to grab the lead once again following men’s
golf. Nevada is projected to win the Cup by
3.25 points. The Wolf Pack are competing
in women’s track, softball and baseball while Boise State just has men’s and women’s
track remaining.
The final round of the WAC
Golf Tournament will commence tomorrow at 9 a.m.
WAC Championships
Hidden Valley Golf Course
Reno, Nev.
Apr. 30-May 2
Boise State Individuals: T4. Chris Byrne
(68-71-139, -5), T10. John Baranco (68-73-141, -3), T12. Troy Merritt
(76-66-142, -2), T14. Matt Hastings
(74-69-143, -1), 41. Robbie Richards
(75-78-153, +9).
Top Teams: 1.
Nevada (278-276-554, -22), 2. Boise State (285-279-564, -12),
3. Fresno State (281-285-566, -10), 4. Hawaii (283-284-567, -9), 5. Louisiana Tech (295-280-575, -1), 6. NMSU (289-289-578, +2), 7. Idaho (296-284-580, +4), 8. SJSU (301-283-584, +8), 9. Utah State (291-296-587, +11).
Top Individuals: 1. Grant Doverspike, Fresno State, (66-67-133, -11), 2. Devin Daniels, Utah State, (69-66-135, -9), 3. Taylor Coleman, Nevada, (69-69-138, -6), T4.
Chris Byrne,
Boise State, (68-71-139, -5), T4.
Matt Rippy, Nevada, (72-67-139, -5).