HERSHEY, Pa. — The Wittenberg Tigers found the warmer temperatures and drier conditions much to their liking on Day 3 of the 2010 NCAA Division III Championships, blistering the course at Hershey Links for a team total of 293 to move into the top 10 heading into the final round.
The first two rounds of the tournament were played in cool, wet conditions, but on Day 3 the skies cleared and the scores plummeted. The Tigers, North Coast Athletic Conference champions for the first time in 18 years, have improved their score each day of the tournament, going from 310 to 306 to 293 for a total of 909. Top-ranked Methodist takes a commanding five-stroke lead into the final day, standing at 884 through the first three rounds.
The story of the day individually for Wittenberg was sophomore Ben Smith (North Bend, Ohio/Elder). He bounced back from rounds of 82 and 84 on the first two days to card a team-best 71. Most impressive was the back-side 32 in Round 3, including two birdies on the final three holes to push his score to one-under-par.
Smith's emergence gave needed support to steady freshman Craig Osterbrock (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington). He has dropped his score from 77 to 75 to 73 as the tournament has gone on. He heads into the final round tied for 27th with a 225.
Sophomore Ricky Boerner (Hilliard, Ohio/Watterson) finished right behind Osterbrock in the third round with a 74, putting him in a 48th-place tie at 229 for the tournament. One of the players he is tied with is junior Bleu George (Lancaster, Ohio/Fisher Catholic), who carded a 75 to also reach 229 for the competition. Rounding things out is sophomore Jordan Millice (Cable, Ohio/Triad), who finished with a 79 for a three-round total of 234, good for a tie for 77th place.
The final round figures to be quite suspenseful as just six strokes separate sixth place Skidmore at 906 from 12th place Otterbein at 912. Wittenberg stands 10th at 909 in their first national tournament appearance since 1993.