Huskies face uphill battle on day 2 of NCAA championships

After surviving the regional cut two weeks ago, the UW men's golf team is right back on the edge at the NCAA championships.

The Huskies fired a 13-over-par 301 Wednesday at the Duke University Golf Course to sit in 25th place, five strokes away from the 15-team cut. Ten teams are chasing the four teams in 13th to keep their season alive for two more days.

Washington hung on for the 10th spot at the NCAA West regionals to qualify for the 30-team national championships. The nerve-wracking finish at the regional competition gave the UW the lowest seed at the NCAAs.

"We got some luck just to get back here," said UW coach O.D. Vincent. "But it doesn't matter what spot we are in, we start with a clean slate here. We are not too far from making the cut strokewise, and will need to make the most of our afternoon tee time to keep our season alive."

By the time the Huskies tee off for second-round action today, they will know exactly what they need to make the cut. Washington also starts round two on the back nine, which is the most difficult part of the course.

Last season, the Huskies also shot 301 to put themselves in an uphill battle on day two. The UW slipped to last place a year ago, and in order to avoid repeating history, it will look to follow the lead of Derek Berg and Joe Ramos during Wednesday's back nine.

Berg recorded a birdie at the 14th hole, and bogeys at 13 and 16, to play his way in with a steady 37, and a 2-over-par 74 for the round. Ramos alternated birdie-bogey from holes 12 to 15 to remain even over the back nine for a 74.

"Joe Ramos and Derek Berg hung in there over the back nine, which is a very tricky part of the course," Vincent said. "I would definitely say they were our highlight players of the day."

Brock Mackenzie added another 74 to the Huskies' score after going even over the front nine. Sophomore John Robertson and freshman Corey Prugh struggled on the first day with a 79 and 80, respectively.

Arizona set the pace on day one with an impressive 8-under-par 280. The Wildcats were paced by the play of Chris Nallen, who posted six birdies and no bogeys for a first-round 66. Last year's NCAA runner-up Georgia Tech trails UA by nine strokes. GT's Kris Mikkelson hung with Nallen at 66 by recording seven birdies and only one bogey. Mikkelson's round included four consecutive birdies from holes seven through 10.

Despite a poor day one, the Huskies remain hopeful that they can come back on a course that can make or break any given team.

"You shoot 13-over and you wonder if you have a chance at making the cut," Vincent said. "But then you see the scoring from the afternoon groupings, and it shows that it was a very tough course to play today. I don't think there was a single pin location in the center of the green."

The top nine individuals playing for teams failing to make the cut will compete during the final two rounds.