The Blue Raiders played as the class of the field with a tournament low 2-under 286 in the second round under difficult weather conditions that made an already tough course even more challenging. Middle Tennessee was the only team to break par in either of the first two rounds and Kent Bulle turned in the individual low round with his 3-under 69 in the second round.

Middle Tennessee's dynamic second-round play enabled the deep lineup to open a 15-stroke lead over second-place Marquette (601) at 25-over par. Jacksonville State (610) is third.

As a result of its consistent quality of play Middle Tennessee will be seeking program history when it attacks the Carter Plantation Tuesday. The Blue Raiders would become the first team in program history to win three straight team titles if they maintain their advantage Tuesday. A win also would be their fourth team title during the 2007-08 season - also a record for wins in a season.

Rick Cochran (74-71) is tied for second at 1-over 145 and is two shots behind leader Mike Van Sickle's 1-under 143. Cochran leads a strong Middle Tennessee contingent that has three players in the top 10, four in the top 15 and five in the top 25.

Chas Narramore is tied for fourth at 2-over 146 and Kent Bulle vaulted into the top 10 at eighth with the tournament's low round of the day with a 3-under 69 in Monday's second round. Bulle fired a 5-over 149 for the day. Craig Smith is tied for 13th with a 6-over 150. He rebounded from a 5-over 77 in the first round with a strong 1-over 73 in the second. Freshman Jason Millard continued to play well and remains a strong freshman of the year candidate in the Sun Belt Conference. The Murfreesboro native is 21st with a 10-over 154. Nick Bailes is playing as an individual and tied for 18th with a 9-over 153.

Stiff north winds and chilly conditions throughout the day made an already tough Carter Plantation course even more difficult and the scores reflected it in the first round but while the field continue to struggle through the second round, Middle Tennessee caught fire down the stretch to take control entering the final round.

"The golf course played hard all day," first-year head coach Whit Turnbow said. "We were kind of hanging around par in the second round and we made a flurry of birdies late and that kind of separated us from the field. We are not out of the water yet. We are playing a tough course with tough conditions so no lead is safe. The guys are playing hard and grinding everything out. They are trying to keep their streak alive."

They are in position to do that because of another determined effort from a tournament-tested lineup that is playing as a team on a mission. Of the 156 rounds played by the 78 individuals in the field Monday, there were only eight rounds under par. Bulle's 69 and Cochran's 71, both in the second round, were one fourth of those. Narramore shot 73 in each of his two rounds and Smith added a 73 in the second round to also produce some of the tournaments top individual scores and put themselves among the field's elite players.

Carter Plantation Intercollegiate
Carter Plantation, Par-72
Springfield, La.
Second round team scores
1 Middle Tennessee 300-286 586 +10
2 Marquette 298-303 601 +25
3 Jacksonville State 313-297 610 +34
Southeastern Louisiana 303-307 610 +34
5 ULM 311-301 612 +36
6 Louisiana-Lafayette 305-308 613 +37
7 Texas-San Antonio 306-314 620 +44
8 St. John's 320-301 621 +45
9 New Orleans 306-316 622 +46
10 Arkansas State 312-311 623 +47
11 Belmont 309-317 626 +50
12 Rice 312-318 620 +54
13 Nicholls State 320-316 636 +60
14 Troy 315-324 639 +63
15 Louisiana Tech 321-320 641 +65

MT Scores
T2 Rick Cochran 74-71 145 +1
T4Chas Narramore 73-73 146 +2
T8 Kent Bulle 80-69 149 +5
T13 Craig Smith 77-73 150 +6
21 Jason Millard 76-78 154 +10
* - Nick Bailes 75-78 153 +9
* - playing as individual

Mail to a friend	Print this article
Share on Facebook