ChampionsGate, Fla. / ChampionsGate Golf Club - Robert Morris University men's golf senior C.G. Mercatoris (Brookville, Pa. / Brookville) fired a two-under par 70 to take the lead at the 2011 Northeast Conference Men's Golf Championships at ChampionsGate Golf Club near Orlando, Fla. The Colonials are second in the team standings, 17 strokes behind Sacred Heart who surged ahead of the field in the second of three rounds.
After a steady round of pars and birdies yesterday, Mercatoris had more of an up-and-down round on the par-72, 6,937-yard International Course Saturday. The senior had an astounding eight birdies, more than offsetting the six bogeys that he also carded. After an opening par, Mercatoris holed out for three straight birds on the second, third and fourth holes before picking up back-to-back bogeys. He reached three-under three times during the round before finishing with a score of 70 to give him a 141 total through 36 holes.
Sophomore Brock Pompeani (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) is in a four-way tie for fourth place after shooting even par on the day. He finished his round with back-to-back birdies and shot three-under on the back nine to recover from a start that saw him bogey three of the first four holes. Pompeani has a 145 total, one-over par, after two rounds.
Sophomore Donny Lewis (Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny) slipped back five strokes from his opening round 75 and has a 155 total to put him in a deadlock for 24th. Sophomore Brock Pompeani (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) posted an 83 Saturday and is 41st with a total of 161. Sophomore Max Cahn (Nyack, N.Y. / Nyack) found six strokes in the second round, chopping his opening round 86 down to 80 Saturday to put himself 49th with a 166 score.
Sacred Heart posted a team score of 287 Saturday to take a 17 stroke lead over the second-place Colonials with a 36-hole team tally of 582. RMU is second at 599 followed closely by Saint Francis (Pa.) (601) and Mount St. May's (602) in fourth. Monmouth and Long Island are tied for fifth (609) followed by Central Connecticut State (611), Fairleigh Dickinson (622), Wagner (632) and St. Francis (N.Y.) (681).
