SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Junior Darien Zhao is among the top-10 through 36 holes of the prestigious 76th Western Intercollegiate presented by Titlest at Pasatiempo Golf Club.
 
Zhao carded his second-straight sub-70 round on Tuesday with his 68 putting him in a tie for sixth at 5-under 135. He is four strokes behind 33rd-ranked Sam Choi of Pepperdine and 43rd-ranked Owen Avrit of Oregon, who share the lead at 9-under. No. 37 Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine) is third at 8-under, while No. 57 Caden Fioroni (UNLV) and Keanu Akina (BYU) are tied for fourth at 6-under.
 
Ninth-ranked Pepperdine opened up a 14-stroke advantage with a tournament-record 328 in the second round.
 
Zhao had another impressive performance as he made the turn at 2-under with a bogey-free front nine. He then countered two bogeys with a couple more birdies to stay below par. Zhao owns a collegiate-best 36-hole score of 136 (67-68).
 
Redshirt freshman Jin Nakao finished with a 72 in Tuesday's second round. Nakao eagled the par-5, 502-yard ninth hole. He is now tied for 33rd at 2-over 142 (70-72).
 
Sophomore Johnny Bai is also tied for 53rd with a 145 (72-73), while freshmen Rei Harashima (75-74) and Andy Zou (70-79) are tied for 74th at 149. Sophomore transfer Joshua Lane, who is making his Anteater debut, rounds out the 6-count-5 lineup with a 154 (77-77).
 
As a team, UCI is 13th with a total of 718 (354-364).
 
The 'Eaters return to Pasatiempo Golf Club tomorrow for the final round of the 76th Western Intercollegiate. Tee times are slated to start at 7:45 a.m. with GOLF Channel providing live coverage from 1-4 p.m. (PDT).