March 10, 2012
Pinehurst_2nd_Round_Release
PINEHURST, N.C. - Junior Michael Kania finds himself in the front of a 72-golfer field after shooting 5-under through the first 36 holes of the 54-hole Pinehurst Intercollegiate being played at the par-71, 6,819-yard Pinehurst No. 6. The team is in 7th place in a 12-team field after shooting a 302-290--592 (+24).
Kania is coming off of a tied for 12th finish at the USF Invitational and has carried over the momentum to this weekend's event. Kania fired a 69 (-2) on the strength of six birdies in the opening round and followed that up with five more birdies in the second round for a 68 (-3) to wrap up the day. The junior is holding a two shot lead over Old Dominion's Garth McGee heading into the final round of play. Kania is looking to become the first Wildcat to capture an individual title since Brendan Kelly did so in the fall of 2011 when he tied for The McLaughlin championship. Kania will tee off from hole number 10 at 9:24 tomorrow morning looking to close out the tournament and spring break trip with an individual title.
The team is sitting four shots behind 6th place Eastern Kentucky and Old Dominion leads the field with a 574 (+6).
Senior Brian Colbert is in a tie for 35th place through thirty six holes after shooting an 80-70--150 (+8). After just one birdie in the opening round, Colbert bounced back with three birdies to two bogies to shoot under par in round two.
Junior Derek Jones fired a 79-75--154 (+12) to put him in a tie for 49th place with one round to go. He had one birdie in the opening round, but had four birdies in an up-and-down second round.
Junior Jimmy Johnston is in a tie for 52nd place with a 78-77--155 (+13) and junior Steve Skurla is in a tie for 60th with a 76-81--157 (+15) to round out the Villanova top five.
Kania is the last on the team to tee off with Skurla teeing off first at 8:48 followed by Johnston, Jones, and Kania.
