April 16, 2005
NEW LONDON, N.C. -
Sophomore transfer Tully Coyle of the University of Maryland was in a tie for eighth place individually after Saturday's second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's golf tournament being played at the Old North State Club.
Coyle, who transferred to Maryland in time for the spring semester, fired the Terps' best round of the day at 76 to finish 36 holes at 147. Coyle had matching nines of 2-over-par 38 on the storied layout. He is shooting for Maryland's first top-10 finish at the ACC Tournament since Keith Unikel tied for 10th in 2000.
As a team, Maryland shot 316 on Saturday for a 36-hole total of 618. The Terrapins are in eighth place as a team, one spot better than last year's finish at the league championship. Maryland will open the final round one shot ahead of North Carolina, but trailing Wake Forest by 13 strokes.
Also for Maryland, John Eades had an 81 on Saturday to post a 154 total after two rounds, tying him for 28th. Tyler Witman had an 80 Saturday and sits in 40th place at 158, while senior Bobby MacWhinnie improved to a 79 on Saturday and is tied for 45th at 162. Hunter Bendall, making his debut in the ACC Tournament, is 48th at 163.
Georgia Tech and Duke are tied atop the team leaderboard at 583. The Yellow Jackets made up the one-shot deficit they had to open Saturday's play. NC State is in third at 592, with two-time defending champion Clemson in fourth at 593.
Duke's Ryan Blaum shot a 1-under-par 71 to extend his lead in the battle for medalist honors, shooting the best round in the field for the second straight day. He is at 139 after two rounds and holds a four-shot lead over Roberto Castro of Georgia Tech and Jack Ferguson of Clemson. Those three players are the only golfers under par after two rounds.
The final round will begin on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Live scoring updates are available at www.golfstat.com.
TEAM SCORES
T1. Georgia Tech 293-290--583; T1. Duke 292-291--583; 3. NC State 299-293--592; 4. Clemson 300-293--593; 5. Virginia 299-303--602; 6. Florida State 297-306--603; 7. Wake Forest 302-303--605; 8. Maryland 302-316--618; 9. North Carolina 314-305--619; 10. Virginia Tech 308-315--623.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1. Ryan Blaum, Duke, 68-71--139; T2. Roberto Castro, Georgia Tech, 71-72--143; T2. Jack Ferguson, Clemson, 71-72--143; 4. Brad Tilley, Virginia, 70-74--144; 5. Nathan Smith, Duke, 73-72--145.
MARYLAND SCORES
T8. Tully Coyle 71-76--147; T28. John Eades 73-81--154; 40. Tyler Witman 78-80--158; T45. Bobby MacWhinnie 83-79--162; 48. Hunter Bendall 80-83--163.
