ORLANDO, Fla. – Going up against some of the top teams in the nation at The National Preview in Orlando, Florida, the 21^st ranked Carson-Newman men's golf team finds itself in 12^th place after two rounds of play with a score of +16.

"The first and second rounds were similar in that we had to count a 77 and had too many doubles and too many three putts," Golf Coach Randy Wylie said. "Tom Forster (Oundle, England), though, is continuing to flourish for us. It's early in the season and we are playing great competition. I know this experience will help us grow as a team and we expect a good final round tomorrow."

Forster, who's only a freshman, is off to the best start among C-N's five golfers. He's currently tied for 24^th place with a score of even par. He shot a 74 in round one, but took four strokes off in the afternoon for a two-under 70 to move up 12 spots on the leaderboard.

Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.) played a consistent 36 holes of golf and put up a one-over, 73 in both rounds. His plus-two ties him for 32^nd. Both Forster and Reeses have yet to card a 75 or over in five times on golf course this fall.

Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) entered the clubhouse with a four-over that tied him for 49^th. After opening with a 75, Headrick improved by two strokes on his final 18 for a 73.

Fintan McKenna (Westhill, UK), playing in his second collegiate event, is tied with one other player for 76^th after twice shooting a five-over, 77 and sophomore Will Hurt (Powell, Tenn.), who's also playing for just the second time in his C-N career, improved by three strokes in the second round for a score of plus-17 and is tied for 91^st.

The tournament's leader is the fourth-ranked team in the nation, Lynn University, as they've placed three student-athletes in the top 10 and are 16 strokes under par. Just one behind them is second-ranked Florida Southern, the team with two of the event's top three individual scorers. The top five is rounded out by the nation's top-ranked squad, West Florida, fifth-ranked Nova Southeastern and 16^th ranked Florida Tech. All totaled, there are 13 ranked teams in the field, including the Eagles.

The final 18 holes of The National Preview are schedule to be played tomorrow and a complete recap of the day will be up on cneagles.com shortly afterward.

-CN-