Monday, April 17, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 17, 2006) - Junior Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) and freshman Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh, Scotland) both fired 4-under-par 69s during the first round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships Monday at the Eagle Creek Golf Club, helping the ETSU men's golf team to an early two-stroke advantage on the team leaderboard in its first-ever A-Sun event.

While Davies and Findlay are in second place at one stroke back of first-round leader Taylor Lewis of Lipscomb, ETSU took the early lead over UNF in the team competition thanks in part to the efforts of sophomore Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) and freshman Adam Hodkinson (Dore, England). Shaw finished the day tied for fifth at 3-under 70, while Hodkinson counted as the Bucs' fourth score with a 2-over 75 and tied for 28^th.

"Jordan really played a great round, and Gareth was very solid from the start," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "Rhys got off to a tough start and was actually over par after eight holes, but then he regrouped and birdied five of his next six to get back in it.

"Overall, it's a good start. It's a typical Florida course and a little different for us because it's wide open off the tee. We thought the Florida teams might be a little more comfortable down here, and so we really didn't know what a good score would be after the first day. We wanted to be close to the top, but to be in the lead is a bonus. We're not displeased at all."

The Bucs lead at 283, followed by UNF at 285 and Jacksonville at 286.  Six teams in all are within eight strokes of first place.

Second round play will resume on Tuesday with the third round scheduled for Wednesday. For updated results from the championship, visit AtlanticSun.org, or get a complete wrap up following each day's play by clicking on ETSUBucs.com.