April 24, 2006

DADE CITY, Fla. - Senior Jonathan Hewett (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and junior Steve Arnold (Langhorne, Pa.) each were four under par with a score of 68 in the second round on Monday afternoon, and Villanova's 36-hole score of 586 places the Wildcats fifth in the field of 12 teams at the Big East Championships. The two-day event began today with two rounds at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.

Hewett, the team captain, and Arnold, the squad's leading scorer, both are in the top 10 in the field of 60 golfers entering the final round on Tuesday. Arnold is tied for fourth place with a total score of three-under-par 141 and Hewett is tied for 10th place after shooting two-under 142 for the day.

After a round of one-over 73 for his first 18 holes, Arnold began the second round with a double bogey. However, he generated six birdies and 11 pars for the remainder of the round to finish with a 68. Hewett had four birdies in a bogey-free round after coming in with a 74 in the first round.

Villanova is seeded sixth in the tournament but is one spot ahead of that ranking with the final 18 holes still to come. The strong play of Arnold and Hewett in the second round helped the Wildcats pull away from a group of teams. Villanova currently is three strokes ahead of St. John's and eight strokes ahead of both DePaul and Connecticut. The Red Storm are the No. 5 seed in the championship but have not beaten the Wildcats in head-to-head competition in four events this spring.

Senior Colin Mahon (Rhinebeck, N.Y.) carded rounds of 76 and 73 to sit at five-over-par and tie for 33rd place in the individual standings. Freshman Doug Stadler (Wexford, Pa.) fired a 74 to start the day and is tied for 44th place with a score of 154 (+10). Classmate Andrew Alexander (Rochester, Minn.) is tied for 54th place at 13-over 157.

Three of the four schools ahead of Villanova in the standings are newcomers to the Big East. Louisville leads the field with a score of 558, while Marquette is just five strokes back at 563. Notre Dame is at 570 and South Florida shot a total of 573 in Monday's action. Derek Fathauer of Louisville produced identical rounds of 66 and is atop the individual leaders at 12-under-par 132. He is three strokes ahead of Marquette's Joe Weber.

Play continues on Tuesday morning with the final 18 holes of the championship. The five Wildcat golfers will begin at the 10th tee with tee times ranging from 8:50 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The tee times for Tuesday group the teams in fourth, fifth and sixth place. Villanova will be playing alongside University of South Florida and St. John's on Tuesday, the same threesome that was grouped together for play on Monday.

NOTES: Last season the Wildcats drew the No. 5 seed in what was only a six-team conference tournament ... The appearance by Villanova in the championship last season was their first since the event cut down to six teams prior to the 2000 season ... With the conference expanding to 12 teams on the men's side this season, each conference team is invited to the tournament ... The Wildcats have been 34 strokes better than St. John's in four tournaments this spring after scoring 71 strokes behind the Red Storm in the same number of competitions in the fall season.