April 21, 2008

Conference USA Results - Day Two
TEXARKANA, Ark. - Junior Zach Sucher carded a 6-under par 66 on Monday's second round to maintain his grasp on first place overall through two rounds of the 2008 Conference USA Championships. Thanks in large part to Sucher's second-lowest 18-hole round of his career, the No. 26 UAB men's golf team remained in a tie for third overall with a two-under par 574 (283-291) heading into Tuesday's final round.

Sucher entered the second round in a six-way tie for first place following his opening round mark of four-under par 68, and quickly showed he is going to be the person to beat for the individual title. Sucher birdied six of his opening 15 holes during Monday's second round, and went on to finish with a 66, resulting in a two-day mark of 10-under par 134. Not only was Monday's round of 66 the second-lowest 18-hole mark of his career, but he also tied his 36-hole career low, originally set at the 2006 Jerry Pate National.

"As a team, we did not play as well as I would have liked," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "I thought Zach played a terrific round and I am very proud of him. We still have a chance to win the program's first-ever conference championship, but it is going to take a total team effort."

Sucher will enter Tuesday's final 18 holes with a three-stroke advantage over Southern Miss' Paul Apyan (68-69/137), while Tulsa's Rob Laird is in third overall with a five-under par 139 (71-68).

Sucher helped the Blazers hold steady at third place entering the event's final day on the par-72, 6,935-yard Texarkana Country Club course. The Blazers climbed as high as second place midway through Monday's second round, but faltered over the final few holes to slip back into third place.

The Blazers will enter the final round six strokes back of Memphis, who leads the 54-hole event with an eight-under par 568 (277-291). Houston is in second overall with a four-under par 572 (282-290), while the Blazers are tied with Southern Miss (286-288) in third. No. 49 SMU rounds out the top five with a five-over par 581 (295-286).

Senior Brad Smith entered the day in a six-way tie for first overall after recording a bogey-free opening round of four-under par 68. However, Smith struggled his way through Monday's second round, recording four bogeys, with his lone birdie coming on the 560-yard par-5 16th hole. As a result, he will enter the championship's final round in a tie for 10th overall with a one-under par 143 (68-75).

Sophomore Adam West carded the team's second-lowest round of the day with a two-over par 74. He collected two birdies and two bogeys through his opening 15 holes, but a double-bogey on No. 16 led him to record his second consecutive two-over par round. He enters the final day tied for 22nd overall with a four-over par 148.

Junior Mike Oimoen is tied for 33rd overall with a five-over par 149, while senior Kyle Sapp rounds out the UAB golfers in a tie for 50th with a 154 (78-76).

Tuesday's final round tees off at 7:40 a.m., with teams going off both the front and back nine. The winner of the C-USA Championship receives an automatic berth to an NCAA Regional. Live scoring is available on www.conferenceusa.com.