MACON, Ga. - The Gonzaga University men's golf squad rebounded from a tough opening day of the Brickyard Collegiate Golf Championship to post a team score of 300 Saturday; 13-strokes better than it shot Friday.
The Bulldogs currently sit in 14th after two rounds of golf at Brickyard at Riverside in Macon, Ga. The Zags have a 36-hole 613 (313-300) and are four strokes behind Boston College and eight behind Princeton.
Gonzaga head coach Robert Gray was proud of how his players regrouped for Saturday's second round.
"Our goal today was to have good body language and to be mentally tough the entire round," explained Gray. "From what I saw, we were much improved from the first day. Our score wasn't great today, but it wasn't due to how we carried ourselves. I'm proud of the guys for sticking with it."
Sophomores Sean Walsh and Sean Carlino posted the best rounds for the Bulldogs Saturday; each finishing with a 2-over par 74. Walsh hit an eagle on hole 12 and Carlino birdied holes six and eight.
Walsh currently stands tied for 60th with a 36-hole 152 (78-74), while Carlino is tied for 75th with a 2-round score of 156 (82-74).
Senior Peter Gullickson, who entered into Saturday's round tied for 18th after shooting an even-par 72, slipped slightly, shooting a 6-over par 78. The lone senior is tied 46th at 150 (72-78).
"Peter was playing alright today but didn't finish like he did yesterday," Gray said. "He was +1 after 12 holes and then played his last six holes at +5. Again, it wasn't because of his demeanor. The wind kicked up and he misjudged it a couple of times, costing him a few shots."
Rounding out Saturday for Gonzaga was junior Erik Krzyzanowski and junior Brendan Connolly who both shot a 76. Krzyzanowski has a two-day score of 157, while Connolly has shot a 162.
Gray believes if his squad continues to show the demeanor they did on the course today they only will continue to be successful.
"We have to carry ourselves this way in every round of every tournament going forward," stated Gray. "When everyone is playing great, the world is a bed of roses and everything comes easy but it's when things aren't going perfectly and how we fight through it that matters. You're going to have a lot more days when things aren't firing on all cylinders; it's the nature of the game."
Gonzaga looks to wrap up the tournament Sunday with the final 18 holes. Weather looks to once again be perfect for the rounds beginning at 5:30 a.m. PDT.
"The weather has been perfect all weekend and Tropical Rainstorm Karen isn't supposed to impact the area until tomorrow night so we should have pretty good weather again," explained Gray. "Our goal Sunday is to be mentally tough the entire round, regardless of whether we're firing on all cylinders or not. As we continue to do that, lower scores will follow."
