FAIRFAX, Va. — George Mason climbed three spots on the leaderboard Monday and sits in ninth place heading into Tuesday's final round of the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational, hosted by West Virginia at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

The Patriots bounced back from a challenging opening round, improving by 10 strokes in the second round to move from 12th to ninth. Mason carded a 16-over-par 300 in the morning round before posting a 6-over-par 290 in the afternoon to finish the day at 22-over-par 590.

The Patriots enter the final round just one stroke behind Murray State and one stroke ahead of Drexel.

Host West Virginia leads the 15-team field at 6-over-par, followed by St. John's at 7-over and Seton Hall at 8-over.

Sophomore Philipp Krone paced the Patriots, carding rounds of 75 and 71 for a two-round total of 2-over-par 145. Krone is tied for 13th in the 88-player field and was tied for fifth in the tournament in par-3 scoring at 3.13.

Senior Vijay "JJ" Powell and Aryan Vuradi are tied for 36th at 6-over-par 149. Powell followed an opening-round 77 with a 72 in the second round, while Vuradi posted rounds of 74 and 75.

Mason Lineup
T13. Philipp Krone — 75-71=145 (+2)
T36 Vijay "JJ" Powell — 77-72=149 (+6)
T36 Aryan Vuradi — 74-75=149 (+6)
T55 Putter Aukrawat -- (77-78=155)
72 Joe Johnson -- (77-79=156)

Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational 
Dates: Oct. 5-6
Course: Mystic Rock Golf Course at Nemacolin Resort
Location: Farmington, Pa.
Par: 72 | Yardage: 7,526
Watch: Live Scoreboard

2026 Field (16 teams): West Virginia, Campbell, Connecticut, Delaware, Drexel, Eastern Michigan, George Mason, George Washington, Murray State, Rider, Robert Morris, Saint Joseph's, St. John's, Seton Hall, Towson and William & Mary. Auburn will compete with individuals only.