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Cats Hold Firm On Team Lead; Banke Ascends to Top at NCAA Bryan Regional

May 17, 2022

BRYAN, Texas – Behind a steady round of 1-under par in Tuesday's second round of the NCAA Bryan Regional, Arizona Men's Golf maintained its position atop the team and individual leaderboards. The Wildcats are leading the field at 13-under par, which includes a three-stroke advantage of second place Texas A&M and Georgia. Graduate senior Christian Banke claimed the top spot on the player leaderboard from teammate Chase Sienkiewicz and enters Wednesday's third round in a three-way tie for first at 6-under par.

"We didn't card the blistering low rounds that we did yesterday, but we played a steady and quality round that added a stroke to our overall team lead," said head coach Jim Anderson. "Tuesday's round was another morning of smart golf and good execution of our gameplan. I am incredibly proud of how our guys handled the success of Monday and remained focus throughout the round. We have put ourselves in a great position to for well-earned victories as a team and individually going into Wednesday."

Despite shooting 1-under as a team on Tuesday following Monday's 12-under opener, Arizona sank two more birdies on the front nine in its second round than its first. Banke's 2-under round on Tuesday included six pars and three birdies before the turn. Junior Chaz Aurilia carded Arizona's second-best round on the day at 1-under.

In addition to Banke's tie for first place among all players, the Cats enter the final round with Chase Sienkeiwicz in a tie for fourth at 5-under, freshman Johnny Walker in a tie for 21st at even, sophomore Sam Sommerhauser at 2-over and tied for 32nd and Aurilia at 4-over and tied for 37th place.

The Wildcats head into the third and final round of NCAA Regionals with a three-stroke edge over host Texas A&M and Georgia atop the team standings. Arizona holds at five-stroke advantage over Pepperdine and a 12-stroke lead over Oregon State. The top five teams from the NCAA Bryan Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona beginning on Saturday, May 27.