The men’s golf team finished the second day of the BIG EAST Championships in second place three strokes behind Georgetown at Callawasie Island, South Carolina. Marquette shot 18 strokes over par (306) while the Hoyas shot 16 strokes over par (304).

Freshman Hunter Eichhorn shot a second-round three strokes over par (73) and moved into first place individually, overtaking Butler’s Patrick Allegier by one stroke.

“I got off to a tough start,” Eichhorn said. “I fought back pretty hard and even got it to one-under going into the last hole. Overall, I’m happy with it because I battled back, but I also left a few out there.”

Eichhorn has handled the expectations well and has kept a strong mentality throughout 36 holes.

“I’ve been really good this week of just kind of brushing it off,” Eichhorn said. “I’m not always trying to take the low percentage shot, the risk-reward shot and getting yourself back in position.”

Sophomore Matt Murlick shot four strokes over par for the tournament and is tied for seventh place. Head coach Steve Bailey recognized the fight that Murlick had after shooting six strokes over par for the day, including four bogies and two double bogies.

“Today (Murlick) didn’t have his best stuff,” Bailey said. “I just loved his optimism and he kept fighting, he definitely wanted to finish strong for his team.”

The Golden Eagles still remain in the hunt for its second straight BIG EAST Championship and coach Bailey is optimistic about his squad’s chances heading into the final day of play.

“Out here, shots can be made up really quickly,” Bailey said. “There’s a lot of holes that are challenging, but we’ve been in it before. We like being in the last group on the final day, so we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Austin Kendziorski, 21 strokes over par, will start the day off for the Golden Eagles with an 8:40 a.m. tee-time. Eichhorn will be in the final pairing and tees off at 10:20 a.m.