Oct. 30, 1999

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

With 18 holes remaining to play, the Wyoming Cowboy golf team is in 16th place out of 20 teams at The Nelson hosted by Stanford University. Wyoming posted a 36-hole total of 584, 16-over par. Wyoming is one of eight teams between ninth and 16th place that are within nine strokes of each other entering Sunday's final round. The Nelson is one of the most prestigious collegiate golf tournaments in the nation.

The Pokes, at 584, are one stroke back of Arkansas and Nebraska at 583. Florida Southern is at 580. TCU sits at 579, Tulsa at 578, Kansas at 576 and Penn State at 575 to round out the eight teams that are closely bunched together from ninth to 16th place. Fresno State and Northwestern are tied for the lead in the team competition at 563.

Wyoming's top individual performer through the first two rounds is junior David Hearn (Brantford, Ontario). Hearn is tied for 21st place in the field of 104 golfers. He shot rounds of 72 and 71 for a 36-hole total of 143 -- one-over par. Fellow juniors Jake Hunter (Page, Ariz.) and Kevin Kayden (Fremont, Ohio) are tied for 45th at 146 -- four-over par. The individual leader is Martin Maritz of Tulsa at seven-under par 135.

"We played a wonderful round of golf today," said University of Wyoming men's golf coach Roger Prenzlow. "Shooting a round of six-under par is a very competitive round at this golf tournament. It's amazing that we go from one of the worst rounds the first 18 holes to one of the best rounds in the second round and only move up a couple spots in the team standings. But that reflects the quality of this tournament field.

"We had a lot of help from a number of guys today. Reid Lende shot a 70 today. Kevin Kayden shot a 69, and Jake Hunter shot 68. That's the kind of effort we need. Hopefully, we can put up another good number on the board Sunday and move up some more in the team standings."

Saturday's round of 278, by the Cowboys, was the second best round of the tournament. Only Fresno State's second round of 274 was better. Northwestern, which is tied with Fresno State for the lead, shot a second round of 278 to match the Cowboys.

The third and final round of The Nelson will be played on Sunday at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. The course measures 6,756 yards and plays to a par of 71.

Below are the team scores entering Sunday's final round, as well as Wyoming's individual scores.

Team Standings
1.      Fresno State    563
        Northwestern    563
3.      Stanford        566
        Washington      566
5.      Arizona         568
6.      Colorado State  571
7.      N.C. State      572
        Colorado        572
9.      Penn State      575
10.     Kansas          576
11.     Tulsa           578
12.     TCU             579
13.     Florida Southern 580
14.     Arkansas        583
        Nebraska        583
16.     Wyoming         584
17.     Duke            586
18.     Michigan        596
        Stetson         596
20.     Arizona State   597

Wyoming Individuals
David Hearn (Brantford, Ontario)  T21st   72-71=143
Jake Hunter (Page, Ariz.)         T45th   78-68=146
Kevin Kayden (Fremont, Ohio)      T45th   77-69=146
Reid Lende (Livingston, Mont.)    T70th   79-70=149
Mike Urbatchka (Sheridan, Wyo.)   T87th   81-72=153