WAIKOLOA, Hawaii – The Western Washington University men's golf team is in 2^nd place heading into the final round of the 2018 Dennis Rose Intercollegiate Invitational.
 
WWU, ranked No. 2 in the Golfstat relative team rankings and No. 8 in the Bushnell Golfweek Division II coaches poll, carded a 5-over-par 293 in Tuesday's second round, and are at 3-under-par 573 on the par 72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings' Course. It was just the third out of 13 rounds this season the Vikings have not recorded a team score at or under par.
 
"Today was definitely more of a grind, where the players had to dig a little deep and not get frustrated," said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. "They all stayed patient and their finish showed that. We had some good results to end the day, which turned what could have been a tough day into something we can build off of heading into tomorrow."
 
Seniors Nick Sparling (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman/Ohio State) and Michael Butler (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) lead the Vikings in a four-way tie for 4^th place at 2-under-par 142. Sparling continued his late fall surge with an even-par 72 and Butler finished at 2-over-par 74 after an opening round 68.
 
Freshman Jordan Lee (Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep) is also in the top 10 tied for 8^th place at even-par 144 for the tournament (70-74).
 
Tournament host Hawai'i Hilo leads the 14-team tournament at 7-under-par 569, a four-stroke advantage over WWU. Stanislaus State turned in the lowest round of the day at 2-under-par 286 to move into 3^rd place at +2 (578), five strokes behind the Vikings.
 
Hawai'i Hilo senior Jared Kinoshita continues to hold the individual lead shooting an even-par 72 on Tuesday, after firing a 7-under-par 65 on Monday. Stanislaus State's Bryson Bentley is in 2^nd at 4-under-par 140, followed by UHH's Taylor Patrick (-3, 141).
 
The final round of the three-round, 54-hole tournament on Hawai'i's Big Island is scheduled to start with a 7:30 am (Hawai'i Time) shotgun start on Wednesday, with WWU will start teeing off holes 1-5 and will be paired with Hawai'i Hilo, Stanislaus State and Sonoma State.
 
WWU's individual scores and the complete team leaderboard from Tuesday's second round of the Dennis Rose Invitational are as follows:
 
 

2018 Dennis Rose Intercollegiate Invitational Waikoloa Kings' Course   8 Waikoloa, HI  8  Par 72  8  7,074 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total
2nd	Western Washington	-3	280	293	--	573
T4	Nick Sparling	-2	70	72	--	142
T4	Michael Butler	-4	68	74	--	142
T8	Jordan Lee	E	70	74	--	144
T28	Cody Roth	+4	72	76	--	148
T42	Brody Bonfilio (ind)	+8	73	79	--	152
T49	Ethan Casto	+10	81	73	--	154
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total
1.	Hawai'i Hilo	-7	282	287	--	569
2.	Western Washington	-3	280	293	--	573
3.	Stanislaus State	+2	292	286	--	578
4.	Sonoma State	+5	282	299	--	581
5.	Colorado Christian	+6	293	289	--	582
6.	Cal State Monterey Bay	+10	299	287	--	586
7.	Dixie State	+12	298	290	--	588
8.	Academy of Art	+15	288	303	--	591
9.	Hawai'i Pacific	+26	313	289	--	602
10.	Saint Martin's	+33	305	304	--	609
11.	Biola	+34	305	305	--	610
12.	Cal State Dominguez Hills	+41	305	312	--	617
13.	Notre Dame De Namur	+43	310	309	--	619
14.	Hawai'i Hilo (B)	+56	314	318	--	632
15.	Chaminade	+60	311	325	--	636

 
Results from the fall season and the upcoming spring schedule, as well as historical information on the program, can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/MGolf.
  The WWU men's golf team has an incredible streak of advancing to the NCAA Championships in each of the 20 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season, including a 3^rd-place finish at the 2013 national championship. The program has produced 17 All-Americans and has won 8 of 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 7 of 11 tournaments, including 2018 champion Ethan Casto.