SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Led by Dalton Reese's (Warrenton, Ga.) four-under 68 that has him in first place, the Carson-Newman men's golf team shot their second lowest round of season on Sunday as they finished day one of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate at the Sevierville Golf Club in Sevierville, Tenn. alone at the top at -1.
"Today was a really good day," said coach Randy Wylie. "I'm really proud of my team. Hopefully, we can keep it up and play like this for two more days. We just have to keep grinding and play one shot at a time."
The last time the Eagles posted a score this low was in the State Farm Intercollegiate in October, when they were seven-under after one round. C-N has a six stroke lead on the second-place team, No. 18 Lincoln Memorial, and they're up by 10 shots on third-place Austin Peay, one of seven Division I teams in the field.
For Reese, he matched the lowest individual round carded by a Carson-Newman player this season, pounded out the second-lowest score of his career and will take a three shot lead into round two. He's tied with five other players, two of whom are his teammates, for the lowest stroke average on par fives. Reese is also tied for the second lowest mark on par threes at one-under and is one-under on par fours for the event, which puts him in a deadlock with one other player for third. The senior has totaled five birdies through 18 holes, tied for the third-most.
"Dalton played really well," said Wylie. "He did a good job finishing his round and played really mature, like a senior leader. He's been struggling a little in the big tournaments and today was a nice breakthrough for him."
One of two players who is three strokes behind Reese and in second-place is Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.). The sophomore's one-under 71 has him even with Austin Peay's Hunter Tidwell. Headrick picked up one of three eagles recorded on Sunday and also tied for the most pars in round one with 14. He shot two-under on par fives and was at even on par fours.
The third Carson-Newman student-athlete in the top ten is Tom Forster (Oundle, England), who is two shots back of Headrick at +1 and is sharing seventh with four golfers. He also posted an even score on par fours and was at -1 on par fives.
Tying for 17th was Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.) after he racked up 14 pars in round one, tied for the most and entered the clubhouse at three-over. He also tied for the sixth-best stroke average on par threes with an even score.
The fifth score for C-N was provided by Brady Childers (Granite Falls, N.C.), who's mark of a six-over 78 has him in 37th, even with five other players. He has collected 13 pars so far in the competition.
The final member of the Carson-Newman team in Sevierville is Will Hurt (Powell, Tenn.), who is playing as an individual and is tied for 17th as well at three-over. The sophomore matched the best stroke average on par fives at 4.50 and he has three birdies to his credit.
The second round of this event is scheduled for Monday afternoon beginning at noon. For a recap and results, visit cneagles.com.
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