HERSHEY, Pa. — Once again playing in unseasonably cold, wet conditions, the Wittenberg Tigers did more than hold their own against the nation's best teams, finishing in a three-way tie for 11th place after Day 2 of the 2010 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, hosted by Elizabethtown College in Hershey, Pa.
While the Tigers stand 19 strokes off the pace set by Methodist University, they accomplished something far more important - making the cut at the halfway point of their first NCAA Division III Tournament since 1993. Wittenberg is one of three teams to finish the first two days of the competition with a team total of 616, three strokes behind 10th-place Centre College.
Individually, the Tigers got a terrific round on Day 2 from junior Bleu George (Lancaster, Ohio/Fisher Catholic). After a first-day 80 at Hershey Links, George rebounded with a three-over-par 74 at Hershey Country Club to lead Wittenberg to a four-stroke improvement over their Day 1 total of 310.
Freshman Craig Osterbrock (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) also found Hershey Country Club more to his liking as he carded a 75 after a Day 1 score of 77. His total score of 152 after two rounds has him tied for 31st place in the tournament, 20 spots ahead of George, who is only two strokes behind him.
Rounding out the Tigers' scorers through the first two days of the competition are sophomore Ricky Boerner (Hilliard, Ohio/Watterson), who posted a 79 on Day 2 to stand at 155 and 62nd place at the halfway point, and sophomore Jordan Millice (Cable, Ohio/Triad), who finished with a 78 on Day 2 to post a matching 155 and stand tied for 62nd place.
Wittenberg returns to Hershey Links on Thursday, starting at noon. Round 4 for the Tigers will again be played at Hershey Country Club on Friday.