BURLINGTON, N.C. – Catching fire to the tune of a 271 team score in the second round, the Radford men's golf team is tied for 6^th out of 16 teams at the Elon Phoenix Invitational.
 
The Highlanders struggled to play up to their usual standard in the first round, shooting a combined 293 and finishing their first 18 holes in the bottom half of the standings. They bounced back strong, however, rising five spots after shooting -13 to close out the day.
 
Fifth-year senior Patrick Gareiss was the main catalyst behind the squad's improved performance, going from a first-round 76 (+5) to an incredible second-round 64 (-7). The Chesapeake, Va. product fired off six birdies and even eagled the 12^th hole to jump a whopping 54 spots on the individual leaderboard and is now tied for 19^th.
 
Bryce Corbett and Bobby Dudeck gave Radford two more golfers in the top 30, shooting -1 to tie for 27^th. Corbett shot a strong 67 (-4) in the second round to jump 28 spots while Dudeck was steady all day, shooting 71-70 with a team-high 24 pars.
 
Tied for 73^rd by the end of the day, Jack Urban played pretty clean golf with a 72 in the first round, but a 78 in the second round erased some of his progress from earlier in the day.
 
Nathan Piatt (T-90^th) didn't have the day he envisioned for himself due to a brutal 85 (+14) in the first round, but an eagle on the 6^th hole and a pair of birdies during his second round 70 produced a ton of momentum heading into the final round.
 
A 4.21 stroke average on Par 4's led to a +23 for the Highlanders. On the other hand, the team produced a very good 4.43 stroke average (-17) on Par 5's, the second-best of any team in the field.
 
COURSE INFORMATION

• Alamance Country Club (Burlington, N.C.)
• Par 71
• 6,871 yards

 
TEAM RESULTS
T-6^th | Radford | 293-271 (-4)
 
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T-19^th | Patrick Gareiss | 76-64 (-2)
T-27^th | Bryce Corbett | 74-67 (-1)
T-27^th | Bobby Dudeck | 71-70 (-1)
T-73^rd | Jack Urban | 72-78 (+8)
T-90^th | Nathan Piatt | 85-70 (+13)
 
UP NEXT
Radford hits the course Tuesday morning to play the third and final round of the Phoenix Invitational. Live results are available on golfstat.com.
 
FOLLOW MEN'S GOLF
For more information on the Radford men's golf team follow @RadfordMGOLF on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Men's Golf on Facebook.