The second day of the National Junior College Division III Tournament saw marked improvement for Riverland men's golf representatives Jeff Clark and Joe Hewitt in Chautauqua, N.Y.

Clark came on strong over the last 12 holes to post a 41-37--78, while Joe Hewitt shaved two strokes off his opening round score with a 42-42--84.

"Both players felt a little bit better about their game today," said Riverland golf coach David Lillemon. "The course played very difficult again, it was cool, mid-50's, and very windy."

Clark struggled through the first six holes, notching five bogeys and a double. But he picked up some momentum by finishing the front nine with three straight pars. This carried over into a 1-over 37 on the back nine.

His round gave him a 159 overall, good for 30th place out of 104 golfers -- an improvement of 17 spots from yesterday.

Hewitt's 84 moved him up to 86th overall with a two day total of 170.

Nathan Fry of Keystone College is the leader through 36 holes with a 143 after shooting a 6-under-par 66 on Day 2.

Eastfield College (Texas) still leads the team competition with a 618, while Region XIII schools Madison Area Technical College and Central Lakes are fourth and sixth, respectively, out of 11 teams.

"The weather's made it difficult on the greens, which is the difference," Lillemon said. "Both players have indicated that throughout the tournament."

Play continues today with Clark teeing off at 10:38 EDT and Hewitt following at 11:08 a.m.