Musical Chairs

St. John's moves up to first while Rhodes falls back to third after second round

May 16, 2007

By Ashley Martin

Special to CSTV.com

St. John's leads after the second round of Division III men's golf championship.

After the second round of the 2007 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, the top three teams from Round 1 merely changed places with St. John's University moving from second to first place, Ohio Wesleyan moving up to second and Rhodes College falling two spots to third.

Leading most of the day, St. John's shot a 300 in the second round to give the team a total score of a 24-over par 600 and an 11-stroke lead over second place Ohio Wesleyan. Dropping to third, Rhodes College finished the day with a 316, 17 strokes behind their first round score.

St. John's junior Clinton Dammann's second round score of one-under par moved him into the top spot on the individual leader board with a total score of 143. Dammann finished in a five-way tie for third after the first round.

Teammate Andrew Longbella joins Dammann in the top two in a three-way tie for second place with a six-over par 78. After going three-under par and leading after the first round, McMurray University's Rode McElreath is also in second along with Jacob Collinsworth of Huntington College.

The field for Thursday's third round of play was cut from 35 to 23 teams and five individuals after the completion of Tuesday's play. Salem State and No. 1-ranked Methodist University ended the first two rounds tied for 23rd with a 66-over par 642. The teams were forced to compete in a playoff where Salem State defeated Methodist by one stroke (18-19).

In individual play, after an unusual turn of events, Wesley College's Riley Powers won his playoff to advance to Thursday's round despite both him and another player hitting their balls into the hazard on their first shots, forcing them to start the hole over.

The championships were held at both Prairie View Golf Club and Hawthorns Golf and Country Club during the first two rounds. The final two rounds will only be played at the Hawthorns.

During the second round, players faced winds and a 20 degree temperature decrease from Monday's opening round.

Team Leaders

1              St. John's Univ. (Minn.)                       300         300         600         +24

2              Ohio Wesleyan Univ.                                          302         309         611         +35

3              Rhodes College                                  299         316         615         +39

4              Univ. of La Verne                                 305         311         616         +40

T5           Emory University                                  305         313         618         +42

T5           Guilford College                                  307         311         618         +42

7              Huntingdon College                                           307         314         621         +46

8              Oglethorpe University                                         303         319         622         +46

9              Transylvania University                      308         316         624         +48

*Three teams are tied for 10^th with a 626, 50-over par

Individual Leaders

1              Clinton Dammann (St. John's)                         72           71           143         -1

T2           Jacob Collinsworth (Huntingdon College)     74           73           147         +3

T2           Andrew Longbella (St. John's)                         74           73           147         +3

T2           Rode McElreath (McMurray Univ.)                    69           78           147         +3

T5           Andy Miller (Otterbein College)                         74           74           148         +4

T5           Joel Winters (Central College)                         74           74           148         +4

8              Chris Davis (La Verne)                                       75           74           149         +5

T9           Nathaniel James (Washington & Lee)           75           75           150         +6

T9           Joseph Poplin (Guilford College)                    77           73           150         +6