BOCA RATON, Fla. – After shooting an opening-round 287 on Friday, the FGCU men's golf team recorded its second-straight sub-300 round with a 292 during the 2nd round Saturday at FAU's Slomin Autism Invitational to tie for 7th place entering Sunday's final round.
 
Andrew Potter and Grant Renegar led FGCU once again as both recorded even-par 72s. Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) is tied for 8th out of 113 golfers after the junior signed for a 3-under 69 in the opening round on Friday. Renegar (McComb, Miss./Meridian CC/Parklane Academy) has now recorded back-to-back even-par performances as the senior also shot a 72 during the 1st round and is tied for 24th overall.
 
Division II and #6 nationally-ranked Lynn leads the 19-team field with a two-round 554 total, four strokes ahead of Connecticut (558). The Eagles are tied with Oakland – the highest-ranked D-I team in the field (#138) according to Golfstat – at 579, just two shots back of 6th-place Hartford (577) and four back of 5th-place and in-state foe Bethune-Cookman (575).
 
"It was a tough day for us as we have several guys battling allergies with the pollen," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "However, with that being said, we need to make some better decisions in tomorrow's final round as we made some big numbers today – most of which were unnecessary."
 
In a testament's to Booker's comments, each his lineup's four counting score members made a double bogey or worse in the 2nd round.
 
After each shot an opening-round 73 on Friday, Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) and Cole Castro (Homestead, Fla./South Dade HS) both signed for rounds of 74 on Saturday to round out the FGCU quartet of counting scores for the day as they are tied for 45th overall.
 
Additionally, Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State College/Timber Creek) shot a 79, while individual Brent Fredericksen (Staten Island, N.Y./Saint Peter's Boys HS) followed up his best-ever collegiate round of 71 with a 75 to tie for 37th overall.
 
Potter made six birdies for the second-straight day. Starting on the back 9, he was able to overcome a pair of double bogeys in his first five holes, and from there he made four birdies versus a pair of bogeys.
 
After making an eagle on the par-5 11th on Friday, Castro made another on the par-5 1st on Saturday as he made the turn on that hole to get under par before finishing with the 2-over round. Smith had a great back 9 – his front 9 – with three birdies and an otherwise clean card before a few miscues on the front side moved his card from -3 to +2 for the day.
 
Action concludes on Sunday with final-round action for the Eagles beginning at 8:30 a.m. from the par-72, 6,786-yard Osprey Point Golf Club. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat by clicking here.
 
FGCU Competing Golfers
T-8) Andrew Potter: 69-72: 141
T-24) Grant Renegar: 72-72: 144
T-37) (I) Brent Fredericksen: 71-75: 146
T-45) Doug Smith: 73-74: 147
T-45) Cole Castro: 73-74: 147
T-92) Michael Keymont: 76-79: 155
 
FAU Slomin Autism Invitational Competing Teams (# Golfstat Ranking)
1) #6 (D-II) Lynn: 281-273: 555
2) #141 Connecticut: 273-285: 558
3) #195 Houston Baptist: 282-283: 565
4) #143 Jacksonville State: 290-279: 569
5) #191 Bethune-Cookman: 288-287: 575
6) #224 Hartford: 289-288: 577
T-7) #178 FGCU: 287-292: 579
T-7) #138 Oakland: 292-287: 579
T-9) #237 Murray State: 293-288: 581
T-9) #170 Georgetown: 285-296: 581
11) #157 FAU: 291-291: 582
T-12) #216 DePaul: 298-292: 590
T-12) #257 Monmouth: 298-292: 590
14) #247 Stetson: 289-303: 592
15) #180 North Dakota State: 298-299: 597
T-16) #277 Hofstra: 297-306: 603
T-16) #278 Manhattan: 299-304: 603
18) #214 Morehead State: 306-301: 607
19) #283 Canisius: 307-307: 614
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For schedule updates, news and information, visit FGCUAthletics.com. For the latest news and behind-the-scenes access to information, photos and videos, follow @FGCU_MGolf on Twitter and @FGCU_MGolf on Instagram.
 
COACH BOOKER
FGCU is led by 4th-year coach Eric Booker, a member of the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide Series) for portions of 17 years from 1990-2007. He has led the Eagles to a pair of wins in limited-field events the last two years, in addition to a tie for 1st at Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate in February of 2018. Booker finished in the top 5 three times in tournaments on the PGA Tour, and also played in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He played in 62 career events on the PGA Tour, with his best finish being a tie for 3rd at the 1999 Honda Classic.
 
HELP THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.