OXBOW, N.D. - A second-round surge by North Dakota put the men's golf team in fourth place after two rounds of the Erv Kaiser Invitational at the Oxbow Country Club. Senior Nick Schaefer (Grand Forks, N.D.) led the charge with a season low 69 (-3), while classmate Alex Robb (Chanhassen, Minn.) responded with a 70 (-2).

Those two scores helped UND post a 296 (+8) in the second round, which was tops in the field along with tournament-leader Manitoba. The Canadian squad added that to a first-round 295 (+7) to lead tournament host North Dakota State (592, +16) by a single stroke.

North Dakota's second-round score was a 15-shot improvement from its opening round of 311 (+23) that has the team settled into fourth place, 14 shots back going into Tuesday's final round. The Green and White are within two strokes now of South Dakota (605, +29).

Schaefer and Robb combined to shave 26 strokes off their respective first-round scores, while junior Sean Halverson (Brainerd, Minn.) was much more consistent in his first 36 holes, firing a first-round score of 77 (+5) to pace the team, then following that up with a 78 (+6).

Sophomore Collin Lervick (Chanhassen, Minn.) and freshman Logan Bashaw (Byron, Minn.) were also steady in their two rounds, combining for a 156 (+12) and 157 (+13), respectively. 

Robb opened with an 86, but soared back with his best round of the season, while Schaefer moved into a tie for sixth in the individual standings after knocking 10 strokes off his first round.

Schaefer and Robb both made six birdies on the day to pace UND.

Team Scores (Top Five)
1. Manitoba (591, +15)
2. North Dakota State (592, +16)
3. South Dakota (605, +29)
4. North Dakota (607, +31)
5. Manitoba B (626, +50)

UND Inviduals 
t6. Nick Schaefer (148, +4)
t20. Sean Halverson (155, +11)
t22. Alex Robb (156, +12)
t22. Collin Lervick (156, +12)
t25. Logan Bashaw (157, +13)

--UND--