Daytona Beach, Fla. – The second round of the 2015 Northeast Conference Men's Golf Championships proved to be more difficult than the opening round, but Robert Morris University was still able to gain ground on the rest of the field and remain in first place with just one round left to play.
 
The Colonials tallied a 305 Saturday afternoon at the LPGA International Hills Course, 13 strokes off their opening 292. That score, however, still allowed them to grow their lead to five strokes as second place Bryant tallied a 308. RMU holds the two round lead with a 597 total followed by the Bulldogs (602) and LIU Brooklyn (605). Fairleigh Dickinson sits just back at 606 followed by Saint Francis U (614), Central Connecticut State (617), Wagner (618), Sacred Heart (632) and St. Francis Brooklyn (710).
 
Senior Matt Gurska highlighted play for RMU with a three-over par 75 on the par 72 course that lost 37 yards Saturday, shrinking to 6,882 yards for the second round. He tallied a trio of birdies beginning with a three on the 386-yard opening hole. Another on the sixth hole helped offset a double-bogey on four and a bogey on eight to finish at 37 on the front nine. He concluded his round with a birdie on the 18th, one of just four birdies in two days on what has proven to be the event's toughest hole. With two cards showing 75, Gurska sits tied for seventh with a 150 total.
 
One of the players he is tied with is teammate and classmate Ryan Prokay. With the exception of one hole, Prokay played even in Saturday's round. He recorded a bird on the par-five second and 14th holes and picked up a third on the 441-yard par-four ninth. Those birdies helped offset an uncharacteristic seven on the 185-yard par-three seventh hole. Three other bogeys added up to a final score of 76. The senior had a 74 Friday and has a 150 total.
 
Garrett Browning, who torched the course for a 67 in the first round, struggled Saturday. A birdie-free round also had a trio of double-bogeys as he came home in 81 strokes. His first round, however, has allowed him to remain the top RMU player in the individual standings. A 36-hole total of 148 has him tied for fifth and five strokes off the individual lead.
 
Santiago Mejia finished the front nine in 38 strokes before picking up birds on the par-four 11th and par-five 14th holes to get himself back to even for the day. The Colombian-native had four straight bogeys to finish his round, however, and his second straight 76 left him just outside the top-10 in 11th position with a 152 total.
 
Junior Dan Maier found four strokes and a pair of birdies Saturday for a second round 78. He was the only Colonial to shoot better in the second day, moving up from 35th to 29th with a two-day score of 160. He picked up both of his birds on par-three holes – the 165-yard third and the 180-yard 12th.
 
The Colonials lead the field in birdies with 22 and sit third with 108 pars. Their lead is mainly the product of playing the par-four holes better than any other team in the field. RMU is +21 on par fours, six strokes better than the next best team.
 
The third and final round of the NEC Tournament begins Sunday, May 3, at 7:40 a.m. The Colonials are slated to begin play at 9:10 a.m.