LIVERMORE, Calif. – The No. 6 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's golf team is showing no signs of slowing down as they go after its fifth tournament victory of the season.

The Vikings hold an 11-stroke lead after the first two rounds of the 15-team Notre Dame de Namur Argonaut Invitational played Monday at Poppy Ridge Golf Course. WWU is at 7-over-par 583, turning rounds of 295 (+7) and 288 (E) on Monday. Cal State San Bernardino is in 2^nd place at 18-over-par 594, 11 strokes back of WWU.

"It was a solid start for the guys today and it was nice to come back with a lower score in the afternoon after the greens got a little dicey," said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. "It was great to see Nick (Sparling) and Jordan (Lee) finish with birdies this afternoon to help get us back to even par for the round. We look to build on these rounds as we head into tomorrow's final round."

WWU senior Nick Sparling, WWU's top ranked player at No. 24 in the Golfstat.com rankings, is tied for the individual lead in the 85-player field at 2-under par 142. Sparling turned in rounds of 72 (E) and 70 (-2) on Monday to sit atop the leaderboard with Saint Martin's Tyler Fitchett. Sparling leads the field with 11 birdies and has the best score in the tournament playing the tough par 4's at even par.

The Vikings have four players listed in the top 20, with senior Michael Butler and freshman Jordan Lee tied for 4^th place at 2-over-par 146. Senior Cody Roth is tied for 18^th at 6-over-par (150) and junior Ethan Casto is just outside the top 20 in 23^rd place at 7-over-par (151). 

The final round of the tournament is set for an 8 am shotgun start on Tuesday. WWU is tied for the NCAA Division II lead with Barry and Grand Valley State with four tournament wins so far in the 2018-19 season.

WWU's individual scores and the complete team leaderboard from the first two rounds of the NDNU Argonaut Invitational are as follows:

WWU has won four of six tournament so far in 2018-19, and have three regular-season tournaments remaining (including the NDNU Invitational) before the GNAC Championships that will be held April 22-23 at Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho:

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.