Tucson, Ariz. (March 18, 2019) --  A strong four-under par round of 284 on Monday afternoon moved the Wyoming Cowboys into 12th place in one of the nation's top fields of men's collegiate golf teams at the University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.).  The 16-team field includes six of the nation's Top 50 ranked teams based on the most recent Golfstat college golf rankings.
     
Wyoming's excellent second round was led by senior John Murdock and junior Dan Starzinski, who both shot three-under par rounds of 69.  Murdock finished the 36 holes on Monday tied for 30th at 142 (-2).  Starzinski is one shot back at 143 (-1) and is tied for 37th, entering Tuesday's final round.  Cowboy freshman Kirby Coe-Kirkham and sophomore Carl Underwood are tied with each other for 67th place at 149 (+5).  Freshman Tyler Severin, who along with Murdock shot a team best 73 (+1) in the N.I.T.'s opening round, dropped back with an afternoon round of 77 to conclude the day in 74th place out of 84 golfers at 150 (+6).
     
"For us to have an under-par round in the afternoon was a positive step for this team," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf.  "I'm asking a lot of the young guys on our team playing in a tournament like this against a very good field of teams, but it is so good for them to compete against this type of field.  We had a little bit of a tough finish in the afternoon with a few missed opportunities late in the round, or we could have posted an even lower score. 
     
"We are slowly getting better.  The added advantage of playing in this tournament is this is the course the Mountain West Championship will be played on later this spring, and prior to this week I think John (Murdock) is the only one on our team who has seen this course before.
     
"I'm cautiously pleased with the way we played in the second round.  Tomorrow I want our guys to go out and focus on playing the best round we can play as a team, not be so concerned about how the other teams are playing but play the best round we can play."
     
The ranked teams in this week's Arizona N.I.T., based on the most recent Golfstat rankings, include No. 4 ranked Arizona State, who is leading the tournament at 543 (-33).  The Sun Devils are followed by No. 7 ranked USC at 549 (-27), No. 5 ranked Oklahoma at 556 (-20) and No. 32 ranked UNLV at 557 (-19).  The tournament leader in the individual competition is No. 3 ranked Justin Suh of USC, who sits at 130 (-14) after shooting rounds of 66 and 64 on Monday.  Trevor Werbylo of Arizona is ranked No. 44 in the country and is in second place at 132 (-12).  Werbylo shot a second round score of 10-under par 62. 
     
The University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.) will conclude on Tuesday with the final 18-hole round.  The tournament is being played at the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course.  The course measures 7,200 yards and plays to a Par of 72.
 
Team Standings
1.   Arizona State                      280-263=543 (-33)
2.   USC                                    279-270=549 (-27)
3.   Oklahoma                           280-276=556 (-20)
4.   UNLV                                  282-275=557 (-19)
5.   New Mexico                        280-278=558 (-18)
6.   Colorado State                    280-281=561 (-15)
T7.  Iowa State                           282-280=562 (-14)
      Arizona                               284-278=562 (-14)
9.   San Diego State                   289-282=571 (-5)
10.  Washington State                285-289=574 (-2)
11.  UTEP                                   290-285=575 (-1)
12.  Wyoming                            295-284=579 (+3)
13.  North Texas                         284-297=581 (+5)
14.  Utah                                   294-289=584 (+8)
15.  Colorado                             291-294=586 (+10)
16.  San Diego                           299-305=604 (+28)
 
Wyoming Cowboys' Individual Standings
T30 John Murdock                     73-69=142 (-2)
T37 Dan Starzinski                     74-69=143 (-1)
T67 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              75-74=149 (+5)
T67 Carl Underwood                 77-72=149 (+5)
74   Tyler Severin                       73-77=150 (+6)