BOULDER CREEK, Nev. – Cooper Groshart and Peyton Hendricks led all Pioneers with matching 1-under overall scores through 54 holes, and Oscar Blomqvist posted an eagle on the par-5 579-yard 13th hole during the third day of competition at the NCAA Division II Championship at Boulder Creek Golf Club — Desert Hawk Coyote Run in Boulder Creek, Nevada.
 
Paddy Blinderman recorded the best round of the day for East Bay, thanks to birdies on Nos. 2, 15 and 16 to finish the round at even par, bumping him up the individual leaderboard in the process with an overall score of 4-over.
 
Thanks to his own trio of birdies, Groshart ended the opening nine at 1-under and made the turn on a positive note after breaking par on two of the last three holes. By shooting 2-over on the following nine holes, he finished his day at 1-over and entered the clubhouse at 1-under overall.
 
Hendricks played consistently throughout the day and started it with a birdie on No. 2 en route to a score of even par as he approached the 10th tee. What started with another birdie on that hole continued on Nos. 13 and 16 as he finished the back nine, and the round itself, at 2-over, which led to an overall score of 1-under.

Blomqvist enjoyed his best round of the tournament — that eagle highlighted his afternoon — as he finished 1-over for the day, a two-shot improvement from the previous day and three shots better than his opening-round result.
 
Combined, Blomqvist was 8-over for the event.
 
Easton Hether also enjoyed his best round of the Championship by finishing 1-over; in addition to birdying No. 5, he finished under par on five on the last six holes, a block of scores that included four birdies in a row which helped him end the back nine 2-under-par and improve his score to 10-over for the week.

Cal State East Bay ended Wednesday's round tied for 16th with Western Washington. From an individual standpoint, Hendricks and Groshart tied for 41st, Blinderman tied for 66th, Blomqvist was for 81st and Hether tied for 90th.
 
Florida Southern ended stroke play with the lowest team score (35-under) and will join seven other squads for match medal play, which starts tomorrow and concludes Friday. Octavio Laurent, an independent competitor from USC Beaufort, is responsible for the lowest individual score and will continue competition after finishing the first three rounds at 17-under.
 
With this week's appearance, the Pioneers advanced to the Championship for the third time in program history, and second time in as many seasons, with the other appearance taking place in 2017.


NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship
Boulder Creek Golf Club — Desert Hawk Coyote Run
Boulder Creek, Nevada
Par 72 | 7,959 yards
 
Team Standings (through stroke play)
1. Florida Southern 280-278-271-829
2. Missouri-St. Louis 278-281-278-837
3. Wingate 290-280-269-817
4. Lee 280-287-279-846
5. Georgia Southwestern 283-289-275-847
6. Columbus State 288-276-284-848
7. Cal State San Bernardino 293-276-285-854
8. Colorado Christian 283-292-280
9. West Texas A&M 278-302-277-857
10. West Florida 285-282-291-858
11. Grand Valley State 289-290-282-861
12. Central Missouri 287-294-282-863
13. Nova Southeastern 289-285-290-864
14. Washburn 293-290-284-867
15. Cal State San Marcos 293-288-290-871
T16. Cal State East Bay 292-290-291-873
T16. Western Washington 292-290-291-873
18. Gannon 295-294-302-891
19. Wheeling 296-307-296-899
20. Charleston (WV) 313-296-305-914
 
Individual Results (leader plus Cal State East Bay only)
1. Octavio Laurent (USC Beaufort (IND) 70-66-63-199
T41. Peyton Hendricks 73-68-74-215
T41. Cooper Groshart 70-72-73-215
T66. Paddy Blinderman 73-75-72-220
T81. Oscar Blomqvist 76-75-73-224
T90. Easton Hether 77-76-73-226