JORDAN, Minn. — Mother Nature made things a little more difficult Sunday afternoon during the second day of the 54-hole Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships—but the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's golf team was up to the challenge.
 
Bryce Galewski (Winona, Minn.) recorded the team's low round of the tournament with a three-over-par 75 and Hunter Rau (Plainview, Minn.) carded his second straight five-over 77, as the Cardinals jumped up from ninth place to seventh with a second-day 311—eight shots better than their opening-day 319.
 
St. Thomas maintained its stranglehold on the top spot after Sunday's second round, shooting a second-day 306 for a 589 total and an 11-shot lead over Augsburg. Saint John's is third at 605, followed by Gustavus (608) and Bethel (614). The Cardinals, meanwhile, are just 10 shots back of sixth-place Concordia and 16 behind fifth-place Bethel.
 
Rau posted a 154 two-day total with his second consecutive 77, while Kyle Brodt (Roseville, Minn.) added a 78 to his Day 1 76 and is also sitting at 154 heading into Monday's final round. Galewski, who struggled with an opening-round 89 on Saturday, rebounded in a big way with his second-day 75 for a 164 36-hole total, while Brett Jackson (Edmonton, Alberta / 82-83—165) and Tyler Dove (Hastings, Minn. / 84-81—165) rounded out the Cardinal lineup.
 
St. Thomas' Shane Sienko and Gustavus' Alec Aunan share the top spot individually at 146. Sienko carded rounds of 69-77, while Aunan went 72-74. Owen Nowick of St. Thomas (73-74—147) and Concordia's Nathaniel Kahlbaugh (73-74—147) and Augsburg's Brett Buckingham (71-76—147) are all tied for third.
 
The conference championships conclude on Monday with a final 18 holes at Ridges at Sand Creek Golf Course.