Galloway, NJ The Virginia men’s golf team enters Saturday’s final round of play at the NCAA East Regional Championship in third place. The Cavaliers will need a top-five finish in the 14-team field to advance to the NCAA Championships.  UVa used another solid day of play to keep its postseason hopes alive, shooting 7-over 291 at Galloway National Golf Club to finish the first 36 holes at 589. UVa’s second round score was seven shots better than its opening-round 298.

With conditions less windy than the teams faced in Thursday’s opening round, the field managed to produce better scoring across the board. Virginia’s Kyle Stough and Ben Kohles finished the day tied for fifth at 3-over 145. They are just three shots behind leader John Hahn of Kent State who used a 67 to move into first place at 142.

Kohles, a freshman, posted Virginia’s best round, shooting even par 71. Stough shot 73, the same as senior teammate Conrad Von Borsig, who is 16th overall. Will Collins and Bruch Woodall both finished with 74s. Collins is in 25th place at 9-over 151 and Woodall moved up to 62nd at 161.

Kohles was remarkably consistent during his round that included 14 pars to go with a pair of birdies and bogeys. Only six players managed to shoot under-par during the second round after no players could accomplish that feat on the first day of competition.

Virginia managed to stay near the top of the leaderboard in part because of its improved play over the course’s final four holes. During the first round the Virginia players combined to shoot 13-over on that portion of the course. Friday the Cavaliers navigated the same stretch at just 1-over.

Tennessee, ranked No. 20, finished the second round with a five-stroke lead at 583. Alabama, ranked 10th, is second at 588, one shot ahead of Virginia. No. 27 Wake Forest dropped back to fourth at 594 and No. 15 Illinois is in fifth place at 595. Colorado State stands sixth at 599. Clemson the region’s top seed and third-ranked team in the nation, could not make up any ground after a poor start and is in ninth place at 609.

The Cavaliers will tee off starting at 9:40 a.m. Saturday. Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com.

In addition to the East Regional, there are five other regional sites that will fill the field for the NCAA Championships.

NCAA East Regional Championship
Galloway National Golf Club
Galloway, NJ
Par-71, 7,022 yards
Second Round Results

Team Results
 1. Tennessee (20)          296-287-583
 2. Alabama (10)            303-285-588
 3. Virginia                298-291-589
 4. Wake Forest (27)        297-297-594
 5. Illinois (15)           307-288-595
 6. Colorado State (34)     311-290-599
 7. Kent State (39)         312-289-601
 8. Minnesota               314-293-607
 9. Clemson (3)             310-299-609
10. Penn State              319-301-620
11. VCU                     315-306-621
12. Coastal Carolina (47)   319-303-622
13. Sacred Heart            322-311-633
14. Columbia                355-317-672
Number in parenthesis is Golfstat ranking

Individual Leaders
1. John Hahn, Kent State         75-67-142
2. Darren Renwick Tennessee      71-72-143
2. Dan Woltman, Wisconsin        74-69-143
4. Kyle Stanley, Clemson         72-72-144
5. Hunter Hamrick, Alabama       74-71-145
5. Ben Kohles, Virginia          74-71-145
5. Scott Langley, Illinois       74-71-145
5. Kyle Stough, Virginia         72-73-145
9. Zach Barlow, Illinois         78-68-146
9. Bud Cauley, Alabama           79-67-146
9. Brendan Gielow, Wake Forest   73-73-146
9. David Holmes, Tennessee       73-73-146

Virginia
 5. Ben Kohles         74-71-145
 5. Kyle Stough        72-73-145
16. Conrad Von Borsig  75-73-148
25. Will Collins       77-74-151
62. Bruce Woodall      87-74-161