PENFIELD, N.Y. – The Carleton College men's golf program finished the second round of the NCAA Championships in a tie for seventh place with a 36-hole score of 603 (+27), making the cut in the Knights' first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships. Only the top 18 squads in the 43-team field earned the opportunity to compete in the final two rounds of the national tournament.
 
The Knights carded a score of 309 (+21) on Wednesday, on a rainy day at Midvale Country Club. The wet weather led to only 11 squads posting lower team scores on Day 2 compared to Tuesday's opening round, with only three of those 11 programs making the cut.
 
"Today's round was extremely tough," said Carleton head coach Sloan Wallgren. "It rained almost the entire time we were on the course. I'm so proud of the way the squad grinded out a decent round today.
 
"The next two days are icing on the cake. However, we are going to try to make a move tomorrow and see if we can climb up the leader board."
 
The six teams ahead of the Knights are all ranked among the nation's top 15 programs entering this week's championships. No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan University leads with a team score of 595 (+19), two shots ahead of No. 9 Huntington College. No. 11 Carnegie Mellon University is currently fourth at 598 (+22), followed by No. 8 Aurora University (599), and No. 1 Methodist University (600). The Knights are tied with No. 25 University of Rochester. Rounding out the top 10 on the leaderboard are No. 3 Emory University and No. 7 University of Lynchburg in a tie for ninth at 605 (+29). Four top-20 programs failed to make the cut.
 
As a team, Carleton has the third most pars in the field over the two rounds with a total of 106.
 
Senior Ryan Choi turned in a score of 79 (+7) on Wednesday. He is currently in 24th place (70+79=149) after two rounds.
 
Gordon Walker had a solid day for the Knights as co-leader for the team with a 76 (+4) and moved up the leaderboard into a tie for 37th place (74+76=150). The junior had 12 pars and a birdie during his second round.
 
Sophomore Sam Higaki carded a 78 (+6) and is now tied for 45th place on the board (73+78=151). Over the two days Higaki has made par on all the par 3s.
 
Justin Rodriguez also had a team-high on the day shooting a 76 (+4) and moved up to a tie for 63rd place overall (77+76=153). The sophomore's round consisted of 13 pars and 5 bogeys.
 
First-year Gareth Birney shot an 80 (+8) in the second round for a two-day total of 164 (88+80).
 
"I'm so proud of our entire team and the assistant coaches," said Wallgren. "A special thanks to all of the parents that made the trip and have been out in the rain all day supporting us. We couldn't do it without you!"
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will play alongside Emory and Rochester during Thursday's third round with tee times scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. EDT (weather permitting). The four-day tournament concludes on Friday.