April 29, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Matthew Harvey shot a one-under-par 71 to pace Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs made a move up the standings in the second day of the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Championships at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club.

As a team, Tech took nine shots off its opening day total and shot a 302, the third best team total in the second round. The Bulldogs move from a tie from seventh place all the way up to fourth place with a two-round total of 613.

Head coach Jean Hall said he was pleased with the way his team started the day but disappointed in the way they finished it.

"We really let a good round get away," Hall said. "After the first nine holes, we were par as a team. However, we let the round get away in the last five or six holes of the day.

"We didn't perform the way we needed to down the stretch. You have to finish what you start."

While Harvey was firing the fourth best round of the day, his teammates were all solid as Amrith de Soysa, Chad Bailey and Corey Bartlett all fired five-over-par 77s on a day where more than one-fourth of the participants shot 80 or higher.

"Matthew played really well today," Hall said.

Junior Ryan Robertson shot an 80 for Tech.

Harvey sits in a tie for 12th place through two rounds followed by de Soysa (T16th), Bartlett and Bailey (T21st) and Robertson (T24th).

New Mexico State leads the team competition with a 588 followed closely by Boise State with a 591, then Fresno State (601), Tech (613), Nevada (615), San Jose State (615), Idaho (621), Utah State (627) and Hawaii (633).

Boise State's Troy Merritt leads the individual competition with a two-round total of six-under-par 138.

Wednesday's final round starts at 9:30 a.m. CST.

"We are going to try to birdie every hole and play as hard as we can," Hall said. "We are going to try to put up some low numbers and see if we can put some pressure on the other teams."