Tough

After two utter heartbreaking losses by Armstrong tennis at the national championships just a few days ago, unfortunately the blog has to relate details of yet another tough defeat as the Pirates missed making the match play cut by two strokes - and two players bogeyed the final hole of their respective rounds.

Coming down to the final holes, there were five teams competing for essentially three spots. North Alabama posted a good number, but also had their final player bogey the last hole of their round. Malone and Indiana (Pa.) each looked like they were out of it but played their final nine holes well. And the roar that went up on hole 9 when Indiana's final player sank a birdie putt to break their tie with UNA and put them into the eighth spot was a great moment for DII men's golf.

But it still does not take away from the sting of what has been a memorable, yet ultimately tough several days for three very good Armstrong athletic teams. All three played their hearts out and represented themselves and the University well. All three have nothing to be ashamed of for the effort they displayed on the court and on the course. And in the end, we all are Pirates.

Now focus shifts to Armstrong softball. The blog is not in Salem physically but you can find all the details of the Pirates' drive to a national title on armstrongpirates.com, on facebook at www.facebook.com/armstrongpirates and on twitter @ArmstrongPirate.

Setting The Stage

It's the final day of stroke play for the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships and for the Pirates, who are currently on the outside looking in of match play, today is the perfect day to make a statement about Armstrong men's golf. Judging by the players' attitudes last night at dinner and again this morning, they are ready for the challenge.

As one team attempts to extend its season today, another arrived in Salem, Va., yesterday intent on writing its own postseason success story - the Armstrong softball team is at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex participating in its first practice of the DII Softball Championships. Tomorrow, the Pirates take on West Chester in the opening game of the tournament. Last year, Armstrong advanced to Sunday's semifinals, going 2-2 in Salem. This year, the Pirates will have a tough task as top-ranked West Texas A&M in is their half of the bracket - but first things first, Armstrong must get past West Chester to put themselves in the winner's bracket. Go Pirates !

One Spot Away

After all the scores came in of round two at the NCAA DII Men's Golf Championships, the Pirates moved up one spot to ninth. Of course, the target spot is eighth. So now head coach Michael Butler and the Pirates know what they need to do tomorrow - make up three strokes on eighth-place Indiana (Pa.) and then outplay the rest of the schools behind Armstrong in the standings.

It is a very bunched leaderboard from that standpoint. Nova Southeastern, who leads by seven strokes, is definitively in the match play field. However second is +21 (Chico State) and they are only 11 strokes ahead of eighth. Thirteen strokes separate USC Aiken, who is in 15th, and eighth as well.  Take a good look at the standings as they are right now. There will be plenty of jostling and movement throughout the day tomorrow.

The Pirates tee off at 12:55 and will be playing with seventh-place Malone and eighth-place Indiana (Pa.). Armstrong will also tee off on No. 10 first, which helped today as the Pirates shaved 12 strokes off of how they played the back nine from day one. Of the 208 birdies that have been recorded during the tournament so far, only 55 have come on the back nine. That is significant.

Also, enough can't be said about the round fifth-year senior Justin Wylie put up today. His even-par 71 was the third-best round he has shot in his career at Armstrong, and arguably came on the biggest stage. That round kept the Pirates within striking distance of advancing to match play, the goal for Armstrong coming into the national championships.

So join us on Wednesday for the final round of stroke play and root on the Pirates to the knockout stages !

Second Round In; Scoreboard Watching Time

The Pirates finished their second round just before 1 p.m., posting a 297 score, which was the third-best among the eight teams that teed off in the morning wave. Armstrong shaved nine strokes off of yesterday's 306 score and also played the back nine at +7, where yesterday the Pirates played the back nine at +19. The team gave a few strokes back over the final holes of the front nine, but senior Justin Wylie came up huge, sinking a 35-foot birdie putt on hole nine to close out an even-par round of 71 to lead Armstrong individually.

With 12 teams just into their front nine of holes, there is a lot of golf to be played in the second round and a lot of opportunity for teams to ether cement their place in the top eight, or fall back to the pack. As this entry is written, the Pirates are tied for 13th. Realistically, Armstrong could find itself right in the 8-10 range when today's play is done, which is clearly within striking distance of the cut line.

We'll be back later tonight to let you know just where Armstrong stands after the second round. Go Pirates !

Tuesday Morning

The Armstrong men's golf team woke up to wet conditions at the Meadows Golf Course for this morning's early 7:35 a.m. tee time. It looks like the Pirates will dodge the actual rain, but the wind continues to blow and wet conditions will make this morning's round a difficult one for Armstrong to make up ground. Follow live scoring of the second round and root on the Pirates to make up the strokes to get back into that top eight.

Head coach Michael Butler gave us his review of the first round yesterday as well. Watch that below. When the Pirates finished their round, they were 11th, but North Alabama slipping back put Armstrong into 10th. The same thing could certainly happen today.

Two Rounds In One

Today was the first round of the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships and for the Pirates, the story was simple: the front nine was good, the back nine was not.

Armstrong made the turn at +3, which put the Pirates tied for the overall lead. The back nine, however, turned into a chamber of horrors as Armstrong played the final nine holes at +19, slipping the Pirates into 10th place.

The bright spot is that no team that teed off in the afternoon played the back nine well. North Alabama, which was looking at being in fourth place as late as the 15th hole, blew up to fall below the Pirates and sits in 11th. The magic number is 8 - you want to be in the top 8 to make it to match play - and only two teams out of the current top eight teed off in the afternoon.

Tomorrow, the Pirates tackle the back nine first, teeing off at 7:35 a.m. However, rain showers will be falling overnight, which could certainly affect course conditions and even postpone the start of the round.

One thing is for certain - the Armstrong players miss their sweet tea. But even up here in western Michigan, McDonald's serves it up so the Pirates are headed there tomorrow morning before the round to get a little bit of the comfort of the South. Go Pirates !

Men's golf takes center stage

The blog now officially shifts its focus to the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships. Today was the practice round for the Pirates, and one thing is very clear - the Meadows Golf Course in Allendale, Mich., is a championship-level course for sure. When Barry won the title here in 2007, the Bucs did so with a +50 team score, and no player broke par over the course of the tournament.

And that was under ideal conditions.

This year, it will be 15+ MPH winds the entire three days before we get to the cut and the match play. And the rough is .. well, rough. You can get a glimpse of that in coach Michael Butler's video here.  Par is going to be a VERY good score on this course and if you do not hit shots in the fairway, you will struggle.

Read the preview of the Pirates heading into the tournament here. Armstrong tees off at Noon on Monday, then will tee off at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

A couple of housecleaning notes as well. Here is NCAA.com writer Denise Maloof's story on the Armstrong tennis senior parents who traveled from all over the world to come to Altamonte Springs for the tennis championships this year. Even though the results were tough, the support from the Armstrong families and friends was tremendous all week long.

Also, Armstrong softball knows who it is playing in the NCAA DII Softball Championships - West Chester will be the Pirates' first opponent, and the first game of the championships, on Thursday at Noon in Salem, Va.

Go Pirates !