Sept. 8, 2014 Results
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Louisiana Tech had a slow start on the first day of the Jeff Jenkins era but finished strong as the Bulldogs completed the first two rounds of the Sam Hall Intercollegiate in eighth place at the Hattiesburg Country Club in Hattiesburg Monday.
Ben Robinson led LA Tech in the second round as the Bulldogs jumped four spots in the second round as the first day of action featured two, 18-hole rounds on the par-71, 6,902-yard course.
"Ben's round was key this afternoon for our team," new head coach Jeff Jenkins said. "He wasn't discouraged by his first round and stayed upbeat. We have to have someone like that take a step forward every round."
Despite shooting a 6-over-par 77 on the first round, Robinson had the second-best round two score of any golfer as he shot 4-under-par 67 over the final 18 holes. He would finish the day tied for 28th at 2-over-par (144).
"I was playing well but nothing seemed to go my way," Robinson said of his opening round. "The shots just seemed to not fall in the morning but then they were falling in the afternoon."
Victor Lange and Chuck Spears led Tech overall with a pair of 1-over-par 143 scores as the pair both shot 1-over-par 72 in the morning round and followed that with an even-par 71 round in the afternoon. They both are tied for 21st entering the final round.
"I am proud of the team for hanging in there after the cold start. We put together one of the better rounds the field had in the afternoon. One-third of the tournament remains and we need to focus on our smaller goals Tuesday morning and only worry about what we can control. If we can be successful doing that, the results will take care of themselves."
LA Tech is two shots behind UTSA on the leaderboard and one stroke ahead of Mississippi State after finishing the day's action at 8-over-par 576.
The final round of the tournament begins Tuesday morning with set tee times beginning at 8 a.m.
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