Bivens Fires 71, Blue Raiders In Fourth

GULF BREEZE, Fla. - Middle Tennessee junior Blake Bivens shot his best round of golf this season, firing a sizzling 1-under-par 71 in the second round, to lead the Blue Raiders in the Emerald Coast Collegiate in Gulf Breeze, Fla., Saturday.

The Blue Raiders enter today's final round in fourth place with a two-round total of 621, three strokes behind third-place Georgia College and State University. The University of West Florida (604) leads, followed by Columbus State University (614). Middle Tennessee finished the first two rounds ahead of Valdosta State (622) and Nebraska (624).

Bivens was Middle Tennessee's top golfer Saturday with a two-round total of 153, which is tied for No. 12 overall and five strokes off the overall lead. His second-round of 71 was his top performance early in the spring season, two strokes better than the round of 73 he shot at the Rio Pinar Intercollegiate. The round of 71 also tied for the best round by a Blue Raider this spring. His strong second round followed a disappointing 82 in the first round.

"I think Bivens came back and played an excellent round of golf," Middle Tennessee coach Johnny Moore said. "He shot a 71 and was actually 3-under with three holes to go. He just had no help."

While Bivens was blistering the course during the second round of action, his Blue Raider teammates continued their struggles from the first round. Junior Kenny Green was second with a 156, which was good for No. 22 and Chris Webb's 157 tied for No. 27, but Josh Nelms and Charlie Gibson tied at No. 43 with two-round totals of 161.

The Blue Raiders had a strong shot of heading into today's final round in second entering the second round, but aside of Bivens' 71, there were few bright spots as the next three scores that counted were a combined 22-over-par.

"When you have a player shoot (71) you should shoot better than 310. That's unacceptable," Moore said. "It's a hard course, a long course, but it's not that hard. I'm not too disappointed, but we should have done better."

TEAM SCORES

1. West Florida, U. of 303 301 604
2. Columbus State U. 304 310 614
3. Georgia College and State U 304 314 618
4. Middle Tennessee 311 310 621
5. Valdosta State U. 319 303 622
6. Nebraska 313 311 624
7. Delta State 312 321 633
8. Wisconsin 317 319 636
9. Drake U. 325 315 640
9. Troy State 321 319 640
11.Ohio U. 324 323 647
12.SW Missouri St. U. 331 319 650
13.St. Louis U. 325 327 652
14.Florida A&M U. 330 332 662
15.Drexel U. 332 332 664

MT SCORES

T 12 Blake Bivens 82 71 153
T 22 KennyGreen 77 79 156
T 27 Chris Webb 80 77 157
T43 Josh Nelms 78 83 161
T43 Charlie Gibson 76 85 161