By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

LA VERNE, Calif. -- A solid second round of action moved the Willamette University men's golf team from 14th place after the first round into a tie for 10th place after 36 holes, on the opening day of the prestigious West Cup on Monday, March 27 at the Sierra La Verne Country Club. Peter Mitzel (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) led the Bearcats with a score of 152 and was part of a two-way tie for 14th place out of 80 competitors.

The tournament will conclude with the final 18 holes at Sierra La Verne on Tuesday, March 28.

Mitzel shot a 79 in the first round and was tied for 49th place, but improved to a 73 in the second round, and zoomed up 35 spots on the leaderboard. He ended the day tied with Matt Shuman from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), who carded two rounds of 76. Mitzel and Shuman were just two strokes out of a four-way tie for 10th at 150 and only three strokes away from a five-way tie for fifth at 149.

Travis Hindle from Trinity University (Texas) topped the field at 2-over-par 144 after shooting a 73 in the first round and a 71 in the second round. He held a three-stroke lead over Alec Spencer from University of La Verne (Calif.), who shot 147 (76-71). Alex Stroes (75-73) from University of Redlands and Aaron DiGiamarino (76-72) from La Verne were tied for third place at 148.

Mitzel's 73 tied for the eighth-best score in the second round and also tied for the 11th-best round of the day out of 160 individual rounds. Only three 71s and seven 72s were better.

Willamette completed the first round with a team score of 319 and was 15th overall. Sam Hinton (So., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) had WU's best score for the first 18 holes with a 77.

The Bearcats cut their score by 14 strokes in the second round, finishing with a 305 to earn the fifth-best score of the round and tie for the eighth lowest round of the day. WU finished the day tied with Texas Lutheran University for 11th place.

"Shooting 14 strokes better in round two on the same day shows just how tough the guys are," Willamette Head Coach Patrick Daugherty said. "It shows they are willing to play through any adversity and will rise to the challenge. There's absolutely no quit on this team."

Trinity led the team standings at 598 (299-299). La Verne was second at 599 (309-290), and Wittenberg University (Ohio) was third at 604 (300-304). Redlands owned fourth place at 607 (296-311). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was fifth at 608 (308-300).

Following Mitzel on Willamette's team list was Hinton, who carded a 79 in the second round and was tied for 42nd at 156. Kenneth Sheldon (So., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) improved from an 83 in the first round to a 74 over the second 18 holes for a score of 157.

Clark Wilson (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) shot 80 and 79 to finish the day at 159. Trent Jones (So., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) recorded an 85 in the first round and a 79 in the second round for an overall score of 164. All five Willamette golfers shot below 80 in the second round.

"We're all pretty tired from a long day, but are excited about our opportunity," Daugherty said. "We get to play tomorrow and hopefully make another move on the leaderboard.