HARRISONBURG, Va. -- On Tuesday during the second round of the Kinder-Williams Invitational, the three teams representing Bridgewater College men's golf improved by a cumulative 36 strokes from the first round, and the A Team shot the second-best number of the tournament (295). Ultimately the Eagles claimed 5th, 6th, and 13th among fifteen teams competing at the Bridgewater home event.
 
The A Team was led by a pair of even par 72s provided by Hayden Hawes and Logan Douthat. Hawes started the day by driving the ball onto the fringe of the 336-yard par 4 first hole and converting the easy birdie. He covered a double bogey on #5 with another birdie and turned in 36. He had the back nine at -2 before dropping a couple strokes on the final holes. Hawes was pleased with his "bounce back" after a first round he thought was unsatisfactory.
 
Douthat hooked a ball out of bounds on #2 and struggled to +4 through seven holes -- but then he lit the afterburners and made five birdies coming in, including four straight on holes #14 through #17. He credited his mental game with keeping him in the match after a rough start. Douthat's 32 on the Lake Course at Lakeview was the low nine of the tournament, and it helped him jump eight spots to finish in 12th place (out of 81 players).
 
Sophomore Max Bondurant played a very consistent tournament and was low-ball for the A Team after posting a pair of 74s. He had only one score above bogey for the week, and he balanced that on #5, a 589-yard par-5 -- he mashed a driver and hit a six iron to five feet, dropping the eagle putt. The steady play earned Bondurant a top-10 finish (t-9).
 
Nate Winebarger was looking for a bounce-back round on Tuesday, and he dropped three strokes for a 77. The junior was +1 through eleven holes when his approach went under the lip of a bunker on #12 -- the resulting triple-bogey took some steam away from the round, but he played the remaining holes at just +1.
 
Senior Jacob Sears entered the second-round tinkering with a new grip, and it gave him some early momentum; he turned from the Mountain Course in 35 strokes. But for the second day in a row, the Lake Nine played tougher for him. A closing 43 resulted in a 78, a two stroke improvement from Monday.
 
Bridgewater was actually paced for the tournament by a player on the B Team -- Darien Smith followed up a career round of 72 with his second-best collegiate score, a 74 that gave him a share of 6th place. "It was fantastic to see Darien finish what he started yesterday, " said head coach John Rogers. "It's not easy the first time you find yourself in contention to manage your emotions, and to follow a great round, but he did it. We are proud of him, and I know the tournament flag will look great on his wall." Smith said he was nervous throughout the round, but credited assistant coach Mike Clark with helping him settle down early in the day.
 
Smith led the B Team to a narrow advantage over the A Team, but he was not alone; freshman Brandon Washburn made a statement in his first collegiate event, by matching the low Bridgewater score of the day (72). He had a nine-hole stretch in the middle of the round where he was -3, and he jumped into a tie for 12th, making him the fourth Eagle to earn a tournament flag (top-18).
 
Two other first-year players rounded out the impressive B Team performance this week. Andrew Baugher played the back nine at -1 to post 73 and felt that his "bookends", meaning the driver and putter, gave him confidence.
 
Jack Thome was only +6 through 27 holes this week, before an erratic final nine holes, during which he said his chipping let him down. Nonetheless, Thome's total (77+79=156) was still seventh best among eighteen Eagles in the field. 
 
Max Kingora completed the B Team showing with one of the better stories of the week. The sophomore posted 80+80=160 to beat his performance in the home tournament a year ago by an astounding 21 strokes. He said he will do even better when he improves his tee shots.
 
On the C Team, freshman Tayte Mills made one of the biggest jumps in the field on Tuesday, improving by 12 strokes. His 76, fueled by a chip-in birdie on #3, moved him sixteen places upward during the final round. Rogers pointed out that freshmen usually get a heavy dose of new techniques that can make them erratic in the short-run, but said he was sure Mills would produce consistently like this in the future.
 
Cole Miller (80-78=158) led the Eagles' third squad for the tournament. He played the front nine at +1 despite a triple bogey, and he said he thought even par was easily within reach today. He credited his mental game for keeping him in it when he had a few costly shots.
 
Connor Kail concluded a steady first collegiate event, and on Tuesday he had only one hole over bogey -- the problem being that it was a quintuple bogey on the par-3 4th hole. Rogers reiterated that Kail also has been making swing adjustments and that the process is going well. "We have such a young team," he said "and it shows the talent level when these guys can go into competition feeling a little unsettled by their changes and still come up with good numbers. It bodes well for the future of our program."
 
Andy Pack opened his second round at just +3 through seven holes, and he added a birdie on the tenth. Making a jump from the hardwood at Bridgewater, Pack finished his first collegiate tournament with an 84, and said he had a blast.
 
Rounding out the C Team, Connor Chapman, posted a 93. "I felt bad for Connor after the round because he was not pleased with his performance," said Rogers "but he is a great young man with excellent athleticism and there are a lot of good days ahead for him. Sometimes we just have to take what this silly game gives us and shrug it off."
 
The Eagles also had three individuals in action this week. Blake Sibert matched Mills' twelve shot improvement to close his inaugural collegiate tournament with a 79. He credited some clutch shots and a hot putter for the improvement.
 
Collin Rhodes came in with 91 and Ben Hutcheson posted 96 on Tuesday.
 
Southern Virginia won the team championship at the Kinder-Williams, while Connor Christie, playing for the Shenandoah B Team, came in with 72-69 to take medalist honors. 
 
The Eagles have a B Team event next Monday (September 26) and then head to Atlanta for the Royal Lakes Invitational on October 10-11.