May 5, 2006

The UTPA men's golf team took an early 11-stroke lead while the Lady Broncs concluded their first round of the tournament in second place at the National Minority College Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie, FL, on Friday (May 5).

Sophomore Kyle Tudi (Phoenix, AZ/Chaparral H.S.) took the tournament lead with a three-under 69 after the first round of competition while freshman Shane Pearce (Carrollton, TX/Hebron H.S.) was a pair of strokes back of his teammate with a score of 71.

Colin Norris (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Cochrane H.S.) and Craig Berger (Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada/Wetaskiwin Composite H.S.) were tied for fourth place as they both fired a 74 after the first set of 18 holes, and Jeff Hensley (Van Horn, TX/Van Horn H.S.) was tied for 11th-place with a score of 75.

The Broncs finished the first day of competition with a total team score of 288 while Jackson State (299), Bethune-Cookman (302), Savannah State (307) and Southern University (311) rounded out the top five.

Nikki Boychuk (Conroe, TX/Willis H.S.) was the Lady Broncs' top performer as she fired an 81 after the first day of competition while Stefanie Maynard (Pflugerville, TX/Pflugerville H.S.), who is shooting for her fourth consecutive individual title at the event, was one stroke back in fourth place with a score of 82.

UTPA senior Daniela Cortes (Aguascalientes, Mexico/Colegio Portugal) was tied with Lady Broncs' newcomer Bronwyn Sandberg (St. Alberta, Alberta, Canada/Bellerose Composite H.S.) with a score of 83 while Melissa Uriegas (Edinburg, TX/PSJA North H.S.) was tied for seventh overall with a score of 84.

Bethune-Cookman currently holds a one-stroke lead over the three-time defending champions, UTPA women's golf team, by a 328-329 margin.

The second day of the National Minority College Golf Championships will begin on Saturday (May 6) while the final day of action will conclude on Sunday (May 7).

UTPA Sports Information