BOWLING GREEN, Fla.—Second round action is complete at the BIG EAST Championships Presented by Jeep and Villanova is currently in fifth place in the team standings with 18 holes remaining on Wednesday when the field of nine teams play in the final round of the conference tournament at Streamsong Resort. The par-72 course which is playing 7,060 yards was a more difficult one than the opening round on Monday as the average score was nearly a full stroke higher in the second round. Junior Noah Peck (Hunt Valley, Md.) leads the Wildcats on the individual leaderboard and is tied for sixth place at even par going into the final round.
 
Villanova recorded a team score of 299 (+11) on Tuesday and has a total score of 290-299=589 (+13) through 36 holes of play. The teams in the middle of the standings are closely bunched together, with the Wildcats just three strokes back of third place Butler and two shots behind fourth place Seton Hall. A total of just 21 strokes separates the top seven teams in the field of nine for the tournament, which Connecticut (577, +1) leads by two strokes over Marquette. The average stroke score was 75.98 in Tuesday's second round.
 
Peck has carded rounds of 69-75=144 through two days of competition, although his score on Tuesday was a bit deceiving as he overcame a triple bogey on the third hole to play even par over his final 15 holes. He made birdies at No. 5, No. 6 and No. 14 in the second round and has a team-high nine birdies for the week. Peck's round of 69 (-3) on Monday was the low round relative to par of his collegiate career.
 
Villanova leads the field in par-five scoring with an aggregate of -14 on the four par-fives on the course, which are at No. 2, No. 9, No. 14 and No. 17. Graduate student Ambrose Abbracciamento (Newtown, Pa.) has been the top individual scorer on those holes with a score of -6 for the week, including consecutive eagles on the 510-yard 14^th hole. He is the only player in the field with two eagles in the tournament. Abbracciamento led the Wildcats with a score of 73 (+1) in the second round and is tied for 15^th on the leaderboard with a score of 147 (+3).
 
Freshman Peter Weaver (Frontenac, Mo.) and senior Max Siegfried (Villanova, Pa.) had the team's other counting scores on Tuesday with rounds of 74 and 77, respectively. Weaver was on fire at the start of the second round when he eagled the second hole and birdied the third to quickly get to three under through three holes of play. His eagle on the 554-yard second hole is one of just two at that hole for the week and Weaver later birdied the 14^th on the way to finishing the day tied for 21^st place with scores of 75-74=149 (+5).
 
Siegfried had a team-high four birdies on Tuesday (at holes 2, 6, 8, 17) and is in a tie for 34^th place at 79-77=156 (+12). Two strokes in front of Siegfried is senior Reb Banas (Winnetka, Ill.) who is in 30^th place with a score of 154 (+10) through two rounds of play. Banas carded a score of even par (72) in the opening round on Monday.
 
Villanova will be grouped with players from fourth place Seton Hall and sixth place DePaul in the final round of the conference championship on Wednesday morning. Tee times for the Wildcats will range from 8:50 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on the first tee, with Siegfried teeing off first and Peck last.