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Daytona, FL- It was a solid day for Mount St. Mary’s as the Mountaineers ended day one of the NEC Men’s Golf Championship in first place with a score of 297 and four golfers in the top-10. Fairleigh Dickinson trails the Mount by four with 301 while Saint Francis (PA) finished day one in third with 305. Robert Morris and Sacred Heart sit in a tie for fourth after carding team scores of 306, while LIU Brooklyn and Central Connecticut share the sixth spot (314). Monmouth is in eighth (318), while Wagner (328) and St. Francis (NY) (345) round out the field of ten. Bryant competed as individuals and did not record a team score, as they are still in the reclassifying process and are ineligible for the NEC’s automatic bid into NCAA regional play.
Leading the way for Mount St. Mary’s was Kevin Ellison (Harrisburg, PA/Bishop McDevitt), who tallied five birdies in the opening round for a score of 73, puting him at +1. Teammate Devin O’Grady (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township), who tallied two birdies in the opening round to post a score of +2, sits in a tie for fifth. Senior Danny Michalek (Mount Airy, MD/Mount St. Joseph), and sophomore Tony Aizpun (Barcelona, Spain/Lycee Francais De Barcelone) finished day one in a tie for ninth with scores of 75, respectively. Central’s Dan Fanion (Westfield, MA/Westfield), is also a part of the tie for ninth, after he shot a 75 as well.
Individually, 2009 Rookie of the Year Leo Garcia (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) paces the field with an even par score of 72. The senior birdied 13, 14 and 16 to keep him in first. He finished the day shooting par to solidify the top-spot on the leader board. The defending champion Pioneers also have a second representative in the top-10, as Josh Salah (Gloucester, MA/Gloucester), booked a 74 to finish in a tie for fifth.
Joining Ellison in the tie for second are Fairleigh Dickinson junior Eduardo Escobar (Manizales, Colombia/San Luis Gonzaga) and Monmouth junior Ian Thimble (Hyde Park, MA/Boston College H.S.). Fairleigh also posts a second team member in the top-10 as Keith Downey (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) inked a 74.
The second round of the 2011 NEC Men's Golf Championship is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, beginning at 8:00 a.m. The final round is slated for Sunday, May 6.