Sunday, April 05, 2009

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (April 5, 2009) - Facing a talented 15-team field that includes 14 teams that are ranked in the Top 25 - including each of the nation's Top 10 squads - the 28^th-ranked ETSU Buccaneers find themselves chasing the pack after the first day of play Sunday in the U.S. Collegiate Championship at the Golf Club of Georgia's Lakeside Course.

Posting a first round team score of 306, the Bucs are currently in 15^th place, while No. 5 Clemson owns a one-stroke edge over No. 22 UCLA and a two-stroke advantage over No. 3 USC for the top spot on the team leaderboard. Meanwhile, Eric Flores of UCLA fired on an opening round 7-under-par 65 to edge USC's Matthew Giles by two strokes and finish the day leading individually. Flores is the nation's 40^th-ranked player, while Giles is ranked No. 3 nationally.

For ETSU, sophomore Rhys Enoch (Cornwall, England) was the team's top individual performer with a 3-over-par 75 to finish tied for 43^rd. Other ETSU results included a tie for 56^th by freshman Michael Stewart (Troon, Scotland), a tie for 63^rd by sophomore Paul O'Kane (Castledawson, Northern Ireland), and a tie for 68^th by freshman Peter Wilson (Locust Valley, N.Y.).

Second round play in the U.S. Collegiate Championship will continue on Monday, followed by third and final round action on Tuesday. Live stats and results are available at Golfstat.com, while ETSUBucs.com will have a full recap of the day's play at the end of each round.