MIDDLETOWN, R.I. -- Xavier sophomore Andy Pope birdied the 18th hole Sunday to give himself the individual lead and the Xavier mens golf team the overall lead after two rounds of the 2004 Atlantic 10 Championship. Pope fired a 2-under 70 on Saturday, putting him at 3-under 141 for the tournament. The 2003 A-10 runner-up, Pope holds a one shot lead over Rhode Islands David Spitz, who relinquished his opening round lead as he shot a 2-over 74 on Saturday.
As a team, Xavier, the defending tournament champion, shot a total of 2-over 290 in the second round, putting XU at 11-over 587 for the tournament. Rhode Island stands in second after back-to-back rounds of 294 to tally 588 after two rounds. Richmond is third with a two-day total of 601.
Freshman Jason Kokrak is making a strong run at Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors. Hes the top freshman in the tournament and stands third overall at even-par 144 after shooting 72 on Saturday. A Xavier golfer has won A-10 Rookie of the Year in two of the last three years.
Xaviers three other golfers are among seven players tied for 11th overall with a two-round total of 152. Freshman John Streibich and junior Neal Grusczynski both fired rounds of 2-over 74 to reach 152, while senior Miles Maillet posted a 76 for the second day in a row.
Xavier will open play on Sunday shortly before 9:30 a.m., and will be looking for its third A-10 title in four years and the fourth in school history. Last year, the Musketeers came from eight strokes back on the final day to win the A-10 Tournament by seven shots.