May 1, 2006

CARMEL, Ind. - Cleveland State is 18 holes from earning the school's first NCAA Regional berth after posting an 11-under par (565) through 36 holes of the 2006 Horizon League Championship. The Vikings lead Loyola by seven strokes and Detroit by 12 shots heading into Tuesday's final round at the 6,701 yard, par 72 Plum Creek Golf Club.

CSU opened with an eight-under par round of 280 -- just one shy of the school record -- to take a three-stroke lead over the Ramblers. The advantage grew to seven after a three-under (285) in the afternoon.

Consistency was the key to the Vikings' success as four of the five golfers in the line-up were under par for the day. Juniors Ben Grandy and Mike Rutgers are tied for fourth at four-under par (140), while senior Steve Weir is two shots back in a tie for ninth. Freshman Jake Scott rounded out the quartet in red numbers, standing in a tie for 11th at one-under.

Detroit's Mark Sommerfeld and Butler's Will Turner are tied for the individual lead at six-under par (138), while Wright State's Brandon Knutson is a shot back of the leaders in third place.

"Today was about consistency and good team golf," CSU head coach Tom Porten said. "Now we need to come out tomorrow and keep applying pressure by making pars and birdies early on. I think our experience in winning the Dayton tournament a couple of weeks ago will help us tomorrow."

Tuesday's final round begins at 8:00 a.m. with CSU, Loyola and Detroit slated to tee off from 9:10 to 9:50.

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