Zen Brown carded four of his six birdies on the front nine Thursday and finished at 3-under-par 69, putting the Colorado State sophomore in a 19-man tie at 21st after the opening round of the NCAA West Regional in Tempe, Ariz.
Meanwhile, playing in chilly conditions at the Central Regional in Sugar Grove, Ill., the University of Colorado finished at 27-over 315, two strokes out of the top 10.
The top 10 teams from each of the three regionals advance to the NCAA Tournament, which starts May 30 in Williamsburg, Va. CSU is at 4-under 284 and is three strokes out of the top 10 in the regional at Tempe; Denver is tied for 18th in the regional at 3-under.
CSU senior Derrick Whiting, who started on the back nine, scrambled to a 2-under 70 after making the turn at 2-over. Whiting had three birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey on his first nine but came back with birdies on holes 3 and 4 and an eagle on the par-5 No. 5.
DU senior Charlie Soule and sophomore Jeff Koprivetz, who also eagled No. 5 and had four birdies, are with Brown at 3-under in the West.
“We got off to a rough start but settled down and played pretty well overall,” CSU coach Jamie Bermel said. “We’ll get a little better tomorrow. We can be right there.”
When the Buffs teed off in the morning wave on the back nine, they did so under Colorado conditions: 45 degrees and 20-mph wind gusts. CU junior Patrick Grady is one of 10 golfers tied for 25th at 4-over 76. Sophomore Derek Tolan is tied for 35th at 77.
“It’s going to be really key for us to pay attention to what we’re doing and not worry about anybody else,” CU coach Roy Edwards said. “It’s absolutely necessary to try and save every shot that is possible.”
The top two individuals from teams that don’t qualify at each locale will advance. The 54-hole regionals end Saturday.
Scott signs first recruit
Denver men’s basketball coach Joe Scott announced his first roster addition, signing Colorado Springs Evangelical Christian Academy standout Rob Lewis to a letter of intent.
Lewis, a 6-foot-7 forward, averaged 27.7 points and 15.8 rebounds his senior season.
Rams add two more
Guards Josh Simmons of Houston and Marcus Walker of Kansas City, Mo., have signed to play at Colorado State, new head coach Tim Miles announced.
The 6-1 Walker is a transfer from Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, after playing his freshman season at Nebraska. The 6-1 Simmons led Westfield High School in scoring (15.0) and assists (3.0) and averaged 6.0 rebounds.
UNC off to Honolulu
The Northern Colorado football team will open the 2007 season at Hawaii on Sept. 1. The schedule, which was released Thursday, has the Bears on the road for five of their first six games. UNC does not have a bye week and ends Nov. 17 at home against Portland State.
Footnotes
CU men’s basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik announced Jody Bailey will be the program’s director of basketball operations. The two worked together at Air Force last season. The hire completes Bzdelik’s staff, which includes assistants Steve McClain, Charles Baker and Derrick Clark. … Jamie Stevens, an assistant coach at Colorado Mines the past six seasons, was named head men’s basketball coach at Central Wyoming College in Riverton.
