ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Oct. 16, 2015) – Going head-to-head with the top teams and players in collegiate golf, ETSU senior Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) paced the Blue and Gold on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Collegiate Championship. 

Kristjansson bagged five birdies en route to carding a 1-under-par 71 and is one of eight golfers tied for 17th following opening round play from The Golf Club of Georgia – Lakeside Course. The Buccaneer senior was sitting 3-under following consecutive birdies on No. 11 and 12, but after parring the next five holes, Kristjansson ended the round with a double-bogey on the par-5, 564-yard 18th to finish with his 71. 

In a field that features seven teams ranked in the top-10 (12 total in the top-25), ETSU sits 11th at 5-over-par 293. The Bucs are ahead of No. 2 Oklahoma State (10-over 298), No. 7 USC (10-over 298) and No. 27 LSU (9-over-par 297). 

Along with Kristjansson, senior Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) posted an even-par 72 placing him in a tie for 25th, while junior Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Slaskie, Poland) is one shot back at 1-over 73. 

Florida State sits atop the leaderboard following Friday’s opening round as the fourth-ranked Seminoles posted a 6-under-par 282 and hold a one shot lead over No. 22 Virginia. Wake Forest, the third-ranked team in the country, is third at 4-under-par 284, while top-ranked Auburn is fourth at 3-under-par 285. 

Individually, Virginia’s Derek Bard – who is ranked 63rd by Golfweek – registered the lowest score in round one as he fired a 6-under-par 66. Bard takes a two-stroke lead into Saturday’s second round as a pair of golfers are tied for second at 4-under 68. 

Second round action gets underway Saturday morning at 8 a.m., while the Bucs tee off of at 12:25 p.m., and are paired with Iowa and Clemson. Live scoring will be provided via Golfstat. 

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For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.