ORLANDO, Fla. -- The University of Florida team of Matthew Wercinski and Jake Gipson both of Niceville, Fla., added to their lead at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Regional Championship on Lake Monroe Sunday with six bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces for a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 22-5.

Things got a little nicer for the team from Niceville, as they capitalized on their first day finish and now hold a commanding 2 pound, 14 ounce lead over Auburn University. They have also ensured themselves a spot at the National Championship which was one of their goals coming into the tournament.

“The wind definitely affected our fishing today,” said Wercinski, a junior in finance. “I caught my limit before 9 this morning and Jake didn’t get his fish until after 1. It was a tough bite today, I could barely feel the fish on my line, but I was able to take advantage of the opportunity and reel them in early.”

“We covered the lake at least four times today,” added Gipson, who is a senior in industrial and systems engineering. “We are fishing this lake like a river, running and gunning, you just can’t sit in any one spot too long. I know there are 8-10-pounders out there, we saw them in practice. There is suppose to be a cold front coming through tomorrow night, we are hoping that those big ones stay ahead of the front and we are able to capitalize on them tomorrow.”

Rounding out the top five teams are Auburn University – Dennis Parker of Prattville, Ala. and Shaye Baker of Reeltown, Ala., (12 bass, 19-7); Young Harris College – Clint McNeal of Hickory Flat, Ga., and Brad Rutherford of Lavonia, Ga., (10 bass, 17-4); University of Central Florida – Matthew Norman of Fort Myers, Fla., and Dustin Lauer of South Bend, Ind., (10 bass, 17-6); and Auburn University – Richard Peek and Caleb Rodgers both of Centre, Ala., (11 bass, 14-4).

These top five teams from the Southeast Regional have earned a spot in the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship in Knoxville, Tenn., April 10-12, 2010. They will be fishing for a top prize package of $100,000 and a chance to compete in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

“We fished really hard today,” said Lauer, local UCF favorite. “We worked for every fish!”

“I am so proud of the way we fished today,” said Norman, of UCF. “We missed some opportunities yesterday, but we made some adjustments that paid off for us today. I am a saltwater fisherman; joining the UCF bass club was the first time I have ever fished for bass. I can bass fish and I’m not going to school tomorrow!”

Each school represented in a televised Regional Championship will have team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each Regional Championship includes a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. Awards of $6,000 also extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.

Anglers will take off from Monroe Harbour at Lake Monroe located at 513 N. Palmetto in Sanford, Fla., at 7 Monday morning. Monday’s final weigh-in will be held at the IOA Plaza on the University of Central Florida campus beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Qualified teams in the Southeast Regional Championship include Auburn University; Clemson University; Coastal Carolina; Columbus State University; Faulkner University Freed-Hardeman University; Georgia Southern; Kennesaw State University; North Alabama; North Florida; University of Central Florida; University of Florida; University of Tennessee; University of Tennessee, Martin; and Young Harris College.

In conjunction with the Southeast Regional Championship, the Reel Life Festival, which features the National Guard Warrior Challenge, is being held and will begin at 3 p.m. Monday at the IOA Plaza.

FLW Outdoors announced the College Fishing trail in May 2008. The entire schedule, which is organized around the five Stren Series Divisions, can be found by visiting CollegeFishing.com along with rules, requirements and information on how to create a bass club.

Full-time students enrolled in four year colleges or universities are eligible to participate in the events. Schools can send two-person teams to each of the four qualifying events in their division, with each event limited to a maximum of 40 teams. Each team has the opportunity to win $10,000 for first and $2,000 through fifth place. Prize money is split evenly between the winning team’s club and the school they represent. The tournaments are free to enter, boats and drivers are provided and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each qualifying event advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships.

The National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship is a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional, 25 total teams. Teams will be provided shirts and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. The purse for the championship ranges from $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $50,000 for the school they represent to $15,000 for fifth, split between the club and school.