Competing in its first national tournament, UMHB made the cut with room to spare Wednesday, firing a total of 302 strokes to move into a tie for seventh place halfway through the event at Chateau Elan Resort.
The 35-team field was whittled to 23 teams, but the Crusaders were in no danger of falling on the wrong side of the cut line. They followed their opening-round 311 on the Woodlands Course with a 302 Wednesday on the Chateau Course and are tied for seventh with first-round leader La Verne (Calif.) at 45-over-par 613.
Also playing the Chateau Course, La Verne ballooned from a 291 Tuesday to a 322.
St. John Fisher (N.Y.) is atop the leaderboard at 596. Oglethorpe (Ga.) is six strokes out of the lead, and Redlands is eight shots back.
“I felt like all spring leading up to now that this team was starting to reach its potential,” said UMHB coach Randy Mann, who is in his final event at the helm of the Crusaders. “I still don’t think our guys have played their best. I think we could still play better.”
The final two rounds also will be played on the Chateau Course, where the Crusaders - for the most part - avoided the big numbers that plagued them in the first round.
Senior Ryan Eastman, who made a 10 on the par-4 14th hole Tuesday en route to an 81, bounced back with a second-round 75. And after struggling with a pair of triple bogeys in his first round as UMHB’s No. 1 player Tuesday, American Southwest Conference champion Eric White followed his 84 with a 75.
“There are some holes on these courses that can jump out there and you can make a big number if you’re not careful,” Mann said. “Eric bounced back today. He had jitters playing No. 1 for us the first day, but I thought he deserved that honor after winning conference.”
Senior Casey Wharton has been UMHB’s most steady player through two days and his spot on the leaderboard is proof. Wharton posted his second straight round of 3-over 74 and is tied for ninth in the individual standings with Bennett Blakeman of Illinois Wesleyan and Bradley Sutherland of Transylvania (Ky.).
That trio trails St. John Fisher’s Scott Harris - the only player under par - by nine strokes.
Playing the back nine first in the second round, Wharton got off to a rough start. He made bogey at the par-4 10th, a double bogey at the par-4 13th and consecutive bogeys at the 15th and 16th holes. He steadied himself from there, making birdie at the par-4 17th and capping his round with a birdie at the par-5 ninth to get back to 6 over.
“Casey has scrapped and grinded his way around for two days,” Mann said. “He really has not hit it that well, but he’s managed to get the job done.”
Davis Dewald (Copperas Cove), who sandwiched a pair of birdies around a bogey and two doubles on his first nine, posted a 78 for the second straight day. And Garrison Nordt, whose first-round 78 was a huge boost for the Crusaders, had an 83 Wednesday.
“The biggest thing for us maybe over the some of the other teams has been our attitude,” Mann said. “We just do not give up and stay patient. “Our guys understand that you’re going to have a three-putt and a bogey sometimes. But you have to be patient because everybody will deal with the same issues at some point. You have to make smart choices.”
With the Crusaders only four strokes out of the top five, Mann said they don’t have a specific score in mind for the third round.
“We’re going to go out there and do the best we can,” he said. “The pressure was on us for the conference tournament, so our guys have already proved what they needed to prove to me. We’re not going talk it up too much. We want to stay loose and play as best we can."
