Tucson, Ariz. (March 18, 2022) --  Competing in the nation's premier college golf tournament this week, the Wyoming Cowboy Golf team played poised and consistent golf on Friday with three Cowboys shooting even or under par and two other Pokes within three shots of par.  Wyoming is tied for 10th with USC in the field of 15 teams, while all nine teams ahead of the Cowboys and Trojans rank among the Top 30 teams in the nation.
 
UW posted a 36-hole total of 573 (-3), while individually Kirby Coe-Kirkham is tied for 17th at 140 (-4).  Bryce Waters is the other Cowboy under par at 143 (-1) to tie for 36th.  Patrick Azevedo shot a 144 (Even) total and is tied for 44th.  Tyler Severin and Jimmy Dales are tied for 61st and 66th, respectively, with 36-hole totals of 146 (+2) and 147 (+3).
 
Oklahoma State leads the team competition by 21 strokes over second-place Arizona.  The OSU Cowboys fired a 535 (-41), while Arizona shot a first-day total of 556 (-20).  Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra of Oklahoma State holds a one stroke lead over three other golfers heading into Saturday's final round.  Lopez-Chacarra posted a 132 (-12) total in the field of 88 collegiate golfers.                     
 
"We need to have the frame of mind to go play a good final round tomorrow after all our guys two played consistent rounds today," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf and Head Men's Golf Coach.  "We've put ourselves in good position after the first day.  It's fun to see where we stack up against one of the best tournament fields in the country, and against a number of Mountain West teams. 
 
"I just want to keep everything as normal tomorrow for our team as possible.  The guys are playing hard and we have a nice balance from our No. 1 to our No. 5 spot.  We're going to go out and play against the golf course tomorrow and not focus on the other teams in the tournament."
 
This week's Arizona N.I.T., includes nine teams ranked in the Top 30 of the most recent Golfstat collegiate golf rankings (as of March 15).  Those nine teams are: No. 1 ranked Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 25 Illinois, No. 28 New Mexico and No. 30 Arizona.
 
Among the five Mountain West teams in the field, only No. 28 ranked New Mexico is ahead of the Cowboys in third place.  Wyoming is ahead of 12th place San Diego State, 14th place Colorado State and 15th place UNLV. 
     
The University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.) will conclude on Saturday 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.   Oklahoma State                 266 269 535 (-41)
2.   Arizona                               277 279 556 (-20)
3.   Oklahoma                           283 275 558 (-18)
      New Mexico                        271 287 558 (-18)
5.   Texas                                  280 280 560 (-16)
      Pepperdine                         283 277 560 (-16)
7.   Illinois                                  281 280 561 (-15)
8.   Arkansas                             279 287 566 (-10)
9.   Tennessee                           281 286 567 (-9)
10. Wyoming                            285 288 573 (-3)
      USC                                     279 294 573 (-3)
12. San Diego State                  286 291 577 (+1)
13. San Diego                            289 291 580 (+4)
14. Colorado State                     292 289 581 (+5)
15. UNLV                                    289 295 584 (+5)
 
Wyoming Cowboys' Individual Standings
T17 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              68        72              140 (-4)
T36 Bryce Waters                       72        71              143 (-1)
T45 Patrick Azevedo                   72        72              144 (Even)
T61 Tyler Severin                        73        73              146 (+2)
T66 Jimmy Dales                        74        73              147 (+3)