Raleigh, N.C. – Redshirt junior transfer Pablo Hernandez fired an opening day two-round score of 1-over par 145 on Saturday to sit in a tie for 20th to lead Western Carolina to seventh-place entering Sunday's final round at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, hosted by NC State at the par-72, 7,287-yard Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
 
Paired with golfers from James Madison and Temple, WCU's scoring five tees off on the back nine beginning at 8 a.m. on Sunday in the final round of tournament play. Live scoring is available through GolfStat with a link online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Hernandez carded seven birdies over his two rounds on Saturday – three in the 1-over par opening-round 73 and four in his even-par round of 72 – to pace the squad. Senior Magnus Pedersen is a stroke back at 2-over par 146, posting rounds of 72 and 74 on Saturday, charting a trio of birdies in both rounds to enter the final day tied for 27th overall.
 
Fifth-year senior Louis Theys is tied for 31st at 3-over par 147 with Adam Hooker (76-72=148) in a tie for 36th  and sophomore Ryan Thomas (74-78=152) tied for 58th overall to round out WCU's scoring five.
 
Playing unattached as an individual in his hometown, redshirt freshman Josh Lendach posted rounds of 73 and 77 to shoot 6-over par 150, tied for 46th overall.
 
Ranked 37th in the latest GolfStat rankings, Lipscomb sits tied with Miami (Ohio) for the tournament lead in the 14-team field with matching scores of 4-under par 572. Tournament host NC State sits in third a stroke in arrears at 573 with Chattanooga and Jacksonville tied for fourth, three strokes off the pace at 575.
 
Jacksonville's Jack Neill leads the 84-golfer field with consecutive rounds of 68 to shoot 8-under par 136 to have a three-stroke edge over Maximillian Steinlechner of NC State.
 
The final round is scheduled for Sunday morning. A complete recap
 
7 – Western Carolina – 293 – 291 = 584 (+8)
T20 – Pablo Hernandez – 73-72 = 145 (+1)
T27 – Magnus Pedersen – 72-74 = 146 (+2)
T31 – Louis Theys – 74-73 = 147 (+3)
T36 – Adam Hooker – 76-72 = 148 (+4)
T58 – Ryan Thomas – 74-78 = 152 (+8)
T46 – Josh Lendach (ind.) – 73-77 = 150 (+6)