Moving Day Favorable to the Red Raiders
May 15, 2015 | Men's Golf
Matias Dominguez helped lead the Red Raiders over the second round Friday, firing a 3-under 68 that was one of four under-par scores for Texas Tech on the day. The Red Raiders enter Saturday's final round with a three stroke lead over Texas.
May 15, 2015
By Matt Dowdy, Athletics Communications
LUBBOCK, Texas - Following Thursday's opening round of the NCAA Lubbock Regional, Texas Tech head coach Greg Sands said the tournament would really begin Friday with teams moving up and down the leaderboard.
As Sands correctly predicted, it was quite the "moving day," especially for the ninth-ranked Red Raiders, who jumped from fourth place to first, following a 10-under-par 274 second round at The Rawls Course.
"We talked about commitment and controlling the things we could control," Sands said of Tech's approach heading into the second round. "We've been there and we know that it's a long tournament and there's a lot of golf left. I think that showed today with our composure. The guys did a great job of executing."
The solid round positioned Tech to not only lead top-seeded Texas by three strokes for first place but to also separate itself from the rest of the field.
The Red Raiders, who need to only finish among the top five teams in order to advance to the NCAA Championships, control a 12 stroke lead over Southeastern Louisiana and Louisville, who ended the day tied for fifth at 4-under for the tournament.
Sands as well as seniors Clement Sordet and Matias Dominguez all cited a large gallery full of scarlet and black as the reason behind Tech's success. Each approach and birdie was applauded, giving Tech the home-course advantage it expected heading into the weekend.
"The crowd made a huge impact on us today," said Dominguez, who helped lead the Red Raiders with a 3-under 68 round. "It was really fun to watch them supporting us and being really excited with how we were playing. We had a lot of fun - all five of us - out there."
Dominguez ended the round with back-to-back birdies on the par-5 17th and 18th holes. He was one of several Red Raiders to take advantage of a favorable back nine as the Red Raiders finished 5-under over the final five holes.
Guillermo Pereira birdied three of the final four holes to cap a 4-under 67 round that matched the lowest on the day. It was quite the turnaround for the freshman who did not count towards Tech's opening-round score following a 1-over 72 card.
"It was really nice to see all the guys playing really good," said Sordet, who will enter the final round in third place individually. "We knew it was going to be a great day because this morning everyone had the feeling that it was going to be great. We shot 10-under so that was great."
Sordet trails K.K. Limbhasut (California) by two strokes for the individual title. He is one of four Red Raiders ranked in the top 20, joining Dominguez (T-6th), Pereira (T-14th) and Artac (T-17th).
Tech took advantage of the holes it could control, going 7-under on the par-fives and then 3-under at the par-3 sixth. Tech leads the field on par-threes with a 3.10 average over two rounds.
Sands said Tech will take a similar approach into Saturday's final round, focusing on staying with each shot and "controlling the things it can control."
If the final round is anything like Friday, expect quite a few happy faces on the Red Raiders, maybe none beaming brighter than Sands, though.
"If I have more fun (Saturday) than I had today, it'll be a great day," said Sands, who will be looking to send Tech past the regional round for the seventh time in his tenure. "I just tried to enjoy the moment. I had a ball out there."
MGolf: What a day for @sandsman14 & the Red Raiders - 10-under 274 to take the lead on Friday #WreckEm #NCAAgolf pic.twitter.com/qVstR96Mix
- TechGameday (@TechGameday) May 16, 2015
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