ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's golf graduate student Nick Lyerly stands in a tie for seventh place while the Spartans are in sixth place through 36 holes of The Johnnie-O at Sea Island. Hosted by Rutgers, the Johnnie-O at Sea Island takes place at the 7,005-yard Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course.
 
Two of Lyerly's three birdies in his first round effort came in his final nine holes. The graduate student carded his second birdie of the round on the seventh hole. Lyerly notched his final birdie of the morning round on the par three, 223-yard 12th hole, his second-to-last hole in his first round to finish one-over-par (71). With three total birdies and only one bogey in his second round, Lyerly posted a two-under-par (68). After opening with his lone bogey of the round, the graduate student posted a birdie on the 15th hole and then carded a birdie on the seventh hole for the second time on the day. Lyerly's last birdie came on the par four, 425-yard 11th hole to bring his 36-hole total score under-par at one-under-par (139).
 
Hudson turned in the Spartans' lone under-par scorecard in his first 18 holes with a two-under-par (68) first round finish. Beginning at the 16th hole, the junior carded a birdie on two of his first three holes. Hudson carded an even-par (35) front nine thanks to his lone birdie on the par five, 582-yard seventh hole. The junior completed his round with his final birdie on the par five, 565-yard 15th. In the second round, Hudson carded two front nine birdies on his way to a two-over-par (72). With a 36-hole total of even-par (140), Hudson's score was good for a tie for 10th place.
 
Symon Balbin carded two birdies in his first four holes in the morning on his opening hole, the 15th, and the 18th. The senior finished the front nine even-par (35) thanks to birdies on two out of three holes beginning at the seventh and ending on the par four, 452-yard ninth. After a first round one-over-par (71), Balbin repeated the effort in the second round with two birdies on par four holes and a birdie on the par three, 179-yard sixth. Balbin's 36-hole total of two-over-par (142) currently stands in a tie for 19th overall.
 
Competing as an individual, Noah Connor recovered after a first round five-over-par (75) with a five-under-par (65) in the second round. The senior carded five birdies in an unblemished second round with two on the back nine. Connor carded back-to-back birdies early in his round on the 15th hole and the par four, 407-yard 16th. The senior opened the front nine, his final nine holes, with a birdie on the par four, 417-yard first tee. He climbed 47 spots to tie for 10th with Hudson.
 
The Spartans stand sixth through 36 holes at five-over-par (565) as they carded a two-over par (282) first round score and a three-over-par (283) second round effort. UNCG currently sits one shot behind Kansas and Cincinnati in fourth, three shots behind Notre Dame in third, four shots behind Kansas State in second, and six shots behind Ohio State at the top of the leaderboard.
 
INSIDE THE SCORECARD

• UNCG stood fourth as a team in scoring with a three-over-par score on par three holes and eight-under-par on all par fives.
• The Spartans' 30 birdies are the most as a team in the field.
• Lyerly and Tommy Lamb's three-under-par efforts on par five holes stood in a 14-way tie for second place.
• Connor and Hudson each shot one-under-par on par fours, good for a tie for fourth.
• Balbin, Connor, and Lamb each tallied seven total birdies each.

UP NEXT
The Spartans finish up the final round of The Johnnie-O at Sea Island tomorrow morning with a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m. UNCG will be paired with Kansas and Rutgers, starting between the 5th-9th holes as a team.