Men's Golf | 10/24/2022 10:44:00 PM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – North Carolina A&T men's golfer Christopher Pieper is in a four-way tie for 17th place. The A&T Aggies are in sixth place after the first two rounds and day of the Daytona Beach Intercollegiate hosted by Stetson University at the par-72, 7,042-yard LPGA International – Hills Course on Monday.
Pieper shot a 3-over 147 thanks to a back nine second round that included two birdies and an eagle. Queen University of Charlotte's John Fahey and Stetson's Truman Keppy lead the tournament as both men shot 7-under 137 after 36 holes. Stetson's Matt Gauntlett (6-under, 138), Howard University's Gregory Odom (5-under, 139) and Florida A&M's Jacob Uyesato (4-under, 140) rounded out the top-5.
The Aggies shot 23-over 599, aided by a second-round 8-over 296. A&T is 41 shots off the lead as Stetson had a terrific first day by shooting 18-under 558. The Aggies are only eight shots behind fellow HBCUs Howard and Florida A&M. Both institutions are in a tie for second by shooting 15-over 591.
Pieper started his day on the par-3 210-yard seventh with a double bogey. He then caught fire for the remainder of the round. He parred the next three holes before posting his first birdie of the day on the par-4, 416-yard 11th. Pieper bogeyed the 13th before parring the next six holes and then ran off three straight birdies to move to 1-under for the round. A bogey on No. 6 ended Pieper's first round with an even par.
His second round also started on the seventh. When he made the turn to play the par-4, 410-yard 10th, he carded two bogeys and birdie on his first three holes of the round. Pieper birdied 10th and then secured his first collegiate eagle by shooting a two on the par-4, 416-yard 11th. He moved to 3-under on the round and the day when he birdied the par-3, 197-yard 15th.
Pieper parred the next three holes before running into some trouble as he returned to the front nine. His final six holes on the day included two double bogeys and a bogey to finish the second round at 3-over.
Freshman Carson Witherspoon filled his second-round card with red after shooting 9-over in the first round. He finished the day with a 5-over 149, and is in a tie for 22nd. He started his second round on the eighth hole, a 536-yard par-5. Witherspoon birdied the hole, which started a string of three birdies in four holes to start his round at 3-under. His only hiccup of the second round was a double bogey on the 16th.
Witherspoon recovered by birding two of his next three holes to move back to 3-under on the round. His final birdie of the round came on par 4, 371-yard fourth to finish his round at 4-under.
Freshman Conardo Chozas and graduate Diego Gonzalez also scored for the Aggies on Monday. Chozas is in a tie for 26th at 7-over 151 after three birdies and an eagle during the second round. Chozas eagled the par-5, 531-yard 14th as he shot 1-over during the round. Gonzalez shot an 11-over 155. He stood at 2-over with five birdies on his card before he ran into trouble on the front nine of the second round. He had a double and a triple bogey during that span. Sophomore Martin Gutierrez also played for the Aggies on Monday (12-over, 162).
A&T returns to action Tuesday for the final round.
