Pierce & Roach Lead Blue Devils Into 12th Place At NCAA East Regional

Friday, May 16

Chattanooga, Tenn.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two

Long & Pierce Named To All-ACC Academic Team

Pierce & Roach Lead Blue Devils Into 12th Place At NCAA East Regional

5/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Freshman Matthew Pierce fired a four-under 67, while classmate Wes Roach shot a three-under 68 on Friday to lead Duke to a two-under 282 at the Council Fire Golf Club in the second round of the NCAA East Regional. Through two rounds of play, the Blue Devils are 12th overall with an even-par 568.

Georgia has a commanding lead in the event with a 32-under 536. Augusta State is second at 13-under with Auburn and UC-Irvine tied for third at 10-under (558). Mississippi State (-8, 560) is fifth, while UAB and New Mexico State at tied for sixth at seven-under (561). Tennessee-Chattanooga (-5, 563) and Charlotte (-5, 563) are tied for eighth with Michigan State and Middle Tennessee State rounding out the top 10 at four-under (564). The top 10 teams advance on the to NCAA Championships May 28-31 at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. Duke will enter tomorrow's final round four shots out of the top 10.

"We need to play patient and efficiently tomorrow," said head coach O.D. Vincent. "This is what it comes down to every year; play well or go home. We look forward to the challenge and I am confident in our team. This is why we put in the work."

Pierce got off to a blistering start in the second round with four birdies (No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5) on his opening five holes. After bogeys on No. 7 and No. 9 he made the turn at two-under. Pierce parred No. 10 before ripping off three straight birdies to move to five-under with five holes remaining. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native posted four pars and a bogey over the final stretch to match Duke's second best regional performance with a four-under 67. He enters the final round tied for 25th with two-under 140 through 36 holes.

Roach opened with back-to-back birdies before suffering a bogey on the third hole. He responded with birdies on No. 5 and No. 7 to move to three-under but dropped a stroke with a bogey on No. 8. Roach added birdies on No. 11 and No. 14 to get to four-under with four holes remaining. The Knoxville, Tenn., native bogeyed No. 15 but got back to four-under with his seventh birdie of the round on the par 3 17th. A bogey on No. 18 closed his round with a three-under 68. Roach is tied for 16th overall with a three-under 139 through two rounds of play.

Senior Michael Schachner fired a one-over 72 on Friday. He posted six pars, two birdies (No. 6 and No. 8) and a bogey on the front nine to make the turn at one-under. He slid back to even-par with a bogey on No. 12 but got back under par with a birdie on the par 3 14th. Schachner hit a snag with back-to-back bogeys on No. 16 and No. 17 to move back to one-over. The Libertyville, Ill., native is tied for 70th at three-over (145).

Clark Klaasen is also tied for 70th after shooting a four-over 75 in the second round. The junior from Grand Rapids, Mich. birdied the par 5 second hole but suffered three straight bogeys to close the day. Sophomore Adam Long struggled to a four-over 40 on his opening nine and never recovered en route to a five-over 76 on Friday. Long is tied for 102nd with a six-over 148.

UAB's Zach Sucher tied the Council Fire course record on Friday with a nine-under 62. He holds the individual lead with an 11-under 131, two shots ahead of Georgia's Hudson Swafford and three shots ahead of Georgia's Russell Henley.

Duke will open final round play on Saturday beginning at 8:05 a.m. on No. 10. The Blue Devils will be paired with Michigan State and Middle Tennessee State, who are both four strokes ahead of Duke. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.

NOTES

Duke's two-under 282 is tied for the fourth-lowest round (in relation to par) in NCAA Regional action in program history
Pierce's four-under 67 is tied for the second lowest NCAA Regional round in Duke history.
Roach matched the fifth best regional round by a Blue Devil with his three-under 68
Roach matched his season high with seven birdies on the day
Duke struggled to close the round for the second straight day, playing the final four holes (No. 15-18) at seven-over par. The Blue Devils had eight bogeys
and one birdie on their final four holes of the round
The Blue Devils did not suffer a double-bogey or worse in the second round
Roach is tied for third in the event in par 3 scoring at three-under through two rounds
Roach is tied for sixth with 11 birdies through 36 holes of play