WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (May 31, 2007) -- The Georgia State men's golf team moved up six spots Thursday to tie for 11th-place overall after a second round total of 282 at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship in Williamsburg, Va.

Derek Oakey, a senior from LaGrange, Ga., paced the Panthers with a school-NCAA record 67 (-3), firing the lowest round ever for a Panthers golfer at the NCAA Championships. He played a clean front nine with one birdie and eight pars. On the backside, Oakey birdied the 12th and pared 13, 14, and 15 before dropping a shot at the par-three 16th. But Oakey rebounded in style, sinking birdies on the final two holes to get to 67 on the day, giving him a two-round score of 142 (+2). Oakey jumped from a tie for 124th after the first round to a tie for 44th after the second round.

After going around the Golden Horseshoe Golf Course in 73 yesterday, senior Ben Taylor came back with an even-par 70 to remain at +3 for the tournament. Taylor is tied for 58th.

"I was extremely proud of the leadership our seniors showed with the 67 from Derek and the 70 from Ben," said head coach Matt Clark.

Freshman Tom Sherreard steadied himself after three consecutive bogeys on the front nine to record a 72 (+2) on the day to sit at 147 after two days and is tied for 115th. Junior Joel Sjoholm and sophomore Mark Haastrup each recorded a 73 for a +3 on the Par 70 course. Sjoholm sits tied for 29th with Haastrup tied for 58th.

The second day Panthers charge included 15 birdies. Oakey led the way with his four, followed by three each from Taylor, Sherreard and Sjoholm, and a pair from Haastrup.

The Panthers finished the second round higher on the leader board than three other programs ranked in the top 10 of the national rankings entering the tournament. Currently tied with No. 9 Florida, State is three shots clear of No. 1 ranked Georgia, four up on No. 7 Lamar, and seven shots ahead of No. 10 Southern California. The Panthers are just one shot behind No. 3 Alabama and two behind No. 5 and defending NCAA champion Oklahoma State.

Second-ranked Stanford University finished the day with a score of 278 (-2) to hold the clubhouse lead in the tournament with an aggregate score of 553 (-7) through two rounds.

All 30 teams and six individuals will compete in the third round Friday, June 1, beginning at 7 a.m. Georgia State tees off on hole 10 at 8:07, 8:17, 8:26, 8:36 and 8:45 a.m. Cuts will be made following Friday's action for Saturday's final round, to include the top 15 teams and top six individuals not on those 15 teams.

Live scoring is available through golfstat.com and through NCAASports.com.

Live video webstreaming with audio commentary will be available for the final two rounds through Golf Week and accessible through NCAASports.com.

NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The Golden Horseshoe Golf Course
6,803 yards, Par 70

Individual Scores: