University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
Goss Hones in on Leader, Vols Sixth
October 12, 2013 | Men's Golf
Oct. 12, 2013
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. -- Improvement is a great sign. On Saturday, the Tennessee men's golf team finished strong, shooting a second round 283 (-5) at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at Blackthorn. The Vols' solid second day gives the Big Orange a chance heading into the final day. Currently, Tennessee sits in a tie with Wake Forest for sixth place (290-283--573).
The Volunteers were once again led by the U.S. Amateur runner up. Oliver Goss tied his best round of the season and positioned himself for a championship run on Sunday. The sophomore racked up five birdies on the way to a second round 68 (-4). Goss will enter the final day tied for fourth, three shots back of the leader.
"Today I played quite solid," Goss said. "I only had one mistake on No. 9 where I hit it in the hazard and made bogey. But then I made four birdies on the back nine to finish four-under par for the day. I'm looking for another good round tomorrow and to help the Vols climb up the leaderboard."
Senior Brandon Rodgers bounced back from a first day 74 (+2) to sink five birdies en route to a 72 (-2) on Saturday. The Farragut, Tenn., native was key to the Vols' success in their last tournament and is looking to be a similar catalyst on Sunday.
"I felt like I played pretty solid today," Rodgers said. "It took me a while to get it going but I putted much better today than I did yesterday which I think was the key to my round."
Sophomore Chad Merzbacher continued his stellar play on Saturday. The Dublin, Ohio native has shot back-to-back days of 70 (-2) which are his season bests. Merzbacher is competing as an individual and is tied for ninth heading into the final day.
The story of the day was the play of Virginia. The Cavaliers lit up the Blackthorn course for a single round tournament record of 272 (-16). In addition, Virginia's Derek Bard tied a course record set by Tennessee's Chris Paisley in 2007 of 64 (-8). The record setting day pushed Virginia all the way up to third place heading into the final round.
On Sunday, Tennessee will start its final round at 9:20 a.m. ET from the 1st tee. Tennessee will be paired with ETSU and UNCW.
For a full leaderboard rundown, Click Here.
Volunteer fans can continue to keep up with the team by following @Vol_Golf on Twitter.
*Played as Individual
| TEAM SCORES (Through Two Round) | ||
| 1. | Kent State | 285-280--565 (-11) |
| 2. | Virginia Tech | 284-282--566 (-10) |
| 3. | Virginia | 295-272--567 (-9) |
| 4. | ETSU | 277-291--568 (-8) |
| 5. | UNCW | 288-284--572 (-4) |
| T-6. | Tennessee | 290-283--573 (-3) |
| T-6. | Wake Forest | 290-283--573 (-3) |
| 8. | Memphis | 288-288--576 (E) |
| 9. | Coastal Carolina | 285-295--580 (+4) |
| 10. | Furman | 292-292--584 (+8) |
| 11. | Missouri | 295-291--586 (+10) |
| 12. | Army | 296-292--588 (+12) |
| 13. | Penn State | 305-295--600 (+24) |
| 14. | Villanova | 327-318--645 (+69) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Through Two Round) | ||
| T-1. | Derek Bard, Virginia | 71-64--135 (-9) |
| T-1. | Scott Vincent, Virginia Tech | 67-68--135 (-9) |
| 3. | Thomas Birdsey, Wake Forest | 67-70--137 (-7) |
| T-4. | Oliver Goss | 70-68--138 (-6) |
| T-4. | Rhys Pugh, ETSU | 66-72--138 (-6) |
| UT SCORES (Through Two Round) | ||
| T-4. | Oliver Goss | 70-68--138 (-6) |
| *T-9. | Chad Merzbacher | 70-70--140 (-4) |
| T-24. | Brandon Rodgers | 74-70--144 (E) |
| T-37. | Jack Smith | 73-73--146 (+2) |
| T-37. | Juan Carlos Serrano | 74-72--146 (+2) |
| T-54. | Marshall Talkington | 73-77--150 (+6) |
