SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Just days after the Northern Illinois Football team conjured up some magic in South Bend, Indiana, the University of Northwestern Men's Golf team is hoping to do the same. Northwestern is competing in the two-day NCCAA North Central Regional at Blackthorn Golf Club in hopes of qualifying for the NCCAA National Championships, set to take place next month in Florida. The top team in the event will earn the automatic bid to Florida, as will the top individual scorer that is not a member of the winning team. You can follow along with the tournament here.

Day One

After 18 holes of play, it appears the Eagles will need to play the round of their lives on Tuesday in order to win the team title. UNW shot +37 as a unit and trail host Bethel (IN) by 28 strokes. Bethel has a 14-shot advantage on the second-place team as well. The good news for Northwestern is that it may very well be sending a representative to the national tournament when all is said and done. Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) fired a 76 (+4) and is tied for fifth in the individual competition. The only competitor in front of him on the leaderboard that doesn't play for Bethel is the golfer currently in second place, who has a three-shot edge on Seiffert.

Seiffert's round got off to a hot start with a birdie on the par-4 second hole. After giving a few back on holes 5-14, the senior found his groove once more, going -2 on the final four holes to card his 76 and keep him in the mix. The next to Eagles on the leaderboard were a pair of freshmen playing in just their second collegiate tournament. Trevor Zenk (Forest Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) and Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) each shot 82 (+10), which is tied for 29th. Zenk's day was highighted by an eagle on the par-5 15th. In a tie for 39th were the two other Eagles in the field, Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) and Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning). The pair each shot 85 (+13).

UNW will tee it up for the second and final round of play on Tuesday at 11:00 AM ET (10:00 AM CT). Follow along with the live leaderboard here.

Day Two

Round two saw Northwestern improve as a team, with multiple players joining Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) in the 70's. Seiffert led the way once again with an even-par 72, keeping him at +4 for the tournament. That score earned him a solo-third place finish, only behind two golfers from Bethel (IN). That meant that Seiffert had earned the individual qualifying spot since Bethel won the team title.

The rest of the Eagles put forth their best foot forward on Tuesday as well as the team moved from eighth place after day one to sixth when the tournament concluded. Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning) fired a 75 (+3), which was a 10-stroke improvement from round one and moved him into a tie for 23rd place with a two-day score of +16. Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) was seven strokes better on Tuesday compared to Monday as he shot a 78 to finish the tournament at +19 and in a tie for 29th. Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) carded an 85 (+13) to finish at +23 and tie for 39th, while Trevor Zenk (Forest Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) tied for 42nd after shooting an 87 (+15) on Tuesday to finish at +25.

Northwestern will return to action Thursday at the UMAC Preview Tournament. Tee times at Pebble Creek Golf Club begin at 10:00 AM.