Marcus Carano

The College of Wooster shaved seven strokes off its uncharacteristic opening round and moved up one place in the team standings to eighth on Sunday, as the first event of the annual two-weekend, 72-hole North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship Series came to a close at Apple Valley Golf Club in Howard, Ohio.

While Wooster is not where it hoped to be due to a 328 – the team's second-highest score of the 2014-15 season – the Fighting Scots still have the potential to improve another spot or two next week after heading in the right direction via a 321 the second 18.

Wooster, with a 649 total, is just four back of seventh-place Wabash College (645) and 11 behind sixth-place Ohio Wesleyan University (638). The Scots scored better than both of those teams Sunday.

A bright spot individually for Wooster was Marcus Carano, who shot in the 70s each round, turning in a 79 and 76. That puts him in a tie for 15th (155), part of a closely-bunched group battling for all-NCAC honors as 22 competitors from fifth- to 26th-place are within seven strokes of each other.

Scott Sears played a key part in the Scots' day two move, going from an 83 to an 80, and he's tied for 33rd overall (163), while Brenden Tully also contributed to the team score each 18 via an 83 and 82, resulting in 37th-place (165).

Additionally, Calvin Milligan posted an 83 during the opening round and Michael Bay an 83 the second day.

The second and final event of the NCAC Golf Championship Series will take place at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio, on May 2-3.