RIVERSIDE, Calif.— Senior
Cole Beyer fired a 3-under par 69 as he and the Colorado Mesa University men's golf team both sit in 18
th place after the first of three rounds at the NCAA Division II South Central/West Super Regional played Thursday afternoon here at Victoria Club.
Led by Beyer, the Mavericks posted a 2-over team score of 290 and will have 11 shots to make up over the second and third rounds if they are going to qualify for the national tournament. The top six out of the 20 teams will earn a bid as will the top two individuals not on those teams.
Beyer made five birdies and an eagle throughout his round on the 6,557-yard, par-72 course and is part of a 3-way tie for 18
th and six shots off the pace, set by St. Mary's Baptiste Touchard and Oklahoma Christian's Oskari Nikku, who both fired an impressive opening rounds of 63.
Eight other golfers are within four shots of that lead as 51 men in the field played the course under par.
Maverick sophomore
Luke Wagstaff was just outside of that group as he finished Thursday's round at even par after making an eagle and a birdie on the front-9 before slipping back with four bogeys and a birdie in the final seven holes. He is tied for 52
nd place.
Timmy Cavarno was CMU's third man of the day after signing for a round of 74 (+2). He is tied for 83
rd while
Baptiste Laborde finished just one shot further back at 75 (+3) to stand in an 84
th place tie.
Dylan Everett rounded out the Maverick contingent and posted an 81 (+9).
Top-ranked and defending national champion Colorado Christian leads the tournament at 270 (-18) while host Cal State San Bernardino took advantage of some course familiarity to stand second at 272 (-16). Cal State East Bay is third at 273 (-15) while Oklahoma Christian is fourth at 278 (-10) to lead a pack of five teams within one shot of the top-6 cutoff, currently at 279 (-9).
Friday's second round will begin at 7:30 a.m. PDT (8:30 a.m. Mountain) although the Mavs will not tee off until 10:10 a.m. PDT (11:10 a.m. Mountain).
