Berry falls in playoff as ThunderWolves finish second

CSU-Pueblo turns in season's top individual round team score in final round of competition.

PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - April 9, 2012) - CSU-Pueblo's James Berry (Jr., Traverse City, Mich.) finished the third round still tied for the lead at the DQ Wolf Pack Invitational, but fell in a one-hole playoff with Colorado Mines' Jim Knous as the ThunderWolves placed second.

After shooting a first-round 67 and a second-round 69, both Berry and Knous each shot two-under 70s in the final round, forcing a one-hole playoff on the 18th. 

Both continued their great play on the final, both set up for long-range birdie opportunities.  Stuck on the fringe 45 feet from the hole, Knous buried an amazing putt to make birdie.  Berry was 20 feet out in his birdie opportunity, but barely missed the hole, bringing the exciting playoff to an end.

Berry finished with a 10-under 206, two strokes away from the school record for best three-round score.

Berry's run for the title capped a solid day for the ThunderWolves, which turned in the low round of the day at 281, 7-under-par.  It still couldn't catch eventual champion, Colorado Mines, which entered the day 21 stroked ahead of the ThunderWolves, but it did outlast Colorado Mesa.  CSU-Pueblo was three strokes better than the Mavericks in the third and final round, breaking a tie between the two squads going into Friday.  It finished the tournament three-under-par as a team, turning in its best three-round total of the season thus far.

CSU-Pueblo will try to remain hot at the right time as it travels to the RMAC Championship next Monday, being held at the Wigwam Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz.