HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. -- Behind the sixth-best score of the day in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, the Christopher Newport golfers surged up to 14th place overall and made the cut. The Captains (+40) fired a 301 on day two with all four counting scores at 78 or better, led by another standout round from junior Robb Kinder (+3) with a one-over 72. 

The 43-team field was trimmed to the top-18 after Wednesday's second round and CNU makes the cut for the second straight year. Methodist (+9) leads the tournament with a 581, taking a six-stroke advantage over Carnegie Mellon (+15) after 36 holes of play. Methodist's Henry Angier (-2) is the individual leader with a five-stroke lead on Kinder heading into the third round. 

CNU opened the day in 20th place but climbed as high as tenth on the day with a strong well-rounded performance in the second round. Kinder led the way with a 72 and was closely followed by Alex Price with a four-over 75, Jack Gessaman with a five-over 76, and Aidan Baron with a seven-over 78. The Captains were one of only nine teams to post four scores of 78 or better in the round and were outpaced by only five teams overall. In fact, of teams playing the same course as CNU on Wednesday, only three fired a better score on the day, and they currently are the first-, second-, and third-place teams in the event. 

CNU was seven-over after the first nine holes, led by rookie Jack Gessaman. The freshman bogeyed his first two holes but immediately got those two stroke back with an Eagle 2 on the 294-yard Par 4 12th hole. He then paired five pars with just one bogey to make the turn at one-over in 37 strokes. Gessaman addeda  birdie on the 386-yard Par 4 1st hole and finished the front nine in 39 strokes. He is currently tied for 48th with a nine-over 152 (76-76). 

Alex Price shaved five strokes off his opening round score to climb into the top-75 after 36 holes. The Captains' junior lefty led the team with three birdies in the round and was two-over on each half of the Las Colinas course at the Mission Inn Resort. He also scored nine pars to finish day two with 155 (80-75) and sits tied for 74th at +12. 

Sophomore Aidan Baron also trimmed three strokes off his first-round score with a 78 on day two. Sinking ten pars and one birdie, Baron was sitting at three-over before a tough run at the end of the day saw him slip back to 115th with a 159 (81-78).

But leading the charge in day two as he has in six straight NCAA Championship rounds, was junior Robb Kinder. Very much in contention heading into the second half of the tournament, Kinder finished strong to gain some momentum heading into Thursday's third round. He was one-under over his final ten holes in the round, including a clean front nine that he finished in just 34 strokes. Kinder dropped strokes on only three holes and picked two of them back up with birdies on holes 12 and 5. 

The junior All-American vaulted 12 spots on the individual leaderboard and currently sits in a three-way tie for 13th at three-over. He wrapped up the first two days with a 146 (74-72). Currently just five strokes off the lead, Kinder was eleven strokes off the pace after 36 holes a year ago when he finished the tournament as the national runner-up. 

Christopher Newport and the rest of the 18 teams and six individuals who made the cut will return to action on Thursday for the third round. The final two rounds will be played on the Par-72 El Campeon course at Mission Inn Resort, where CNU played in the first round.