Sunday, April 17, 2005

            DAVIDSON, N.C. (April 17, 2005) - Sophomore Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) fired a 4-under-par 68 to capture the first round lead at the Southern Conference Men's Golf Championships Sunday at the River Run Country Club.

            Davies' efforts helped the Buccaneers to a strong first-day showing, as they are currently just five strokes back of host Davidson College for the top spot on the team leaderboard. Currently, the top five teams include Davidson (+4), ETSU (+9), Chattanooga (+10), UNC Greensboro (+13) and Georgia Southern (+14).

            "Rhys played very well and was very solid," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "The course is a really nice course, but it played very difficult today. Our other guys really hung in there and battled. We're still hanging in there and are in position with two rounds to go."

            On the individual leaderboard, Davies, who entered the event as the country's No. 3-ranked collegiate player, holds a two-stroke advantage over Furman's Rob Langley and a three-stroke edge over Davidson's Steve Mayo. Meanwhile, Georgia Southern's Aron Price, who entered the event as the country's No. 5-ranked player, struggled in the opening round, firing a 5-over-par 77 and finishing 20^th.

            Other ETSU results included freshmen Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) and Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland), who finished 11^th and 16^th, respectively. McNamara posted a 2-over 74, while Shaw finished with a 4-over 76. Senior Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales) finished with a 79, which placed him 38^th after the first day.

            Second round play will continue on Monday, with third and final round play scheduled for Tuesday. ETSU fans can keep with the Buccaneer men's golf team by visiting Golfstat.com for live results from the event, or they can get a complete wrap-up of the day's play by visiting ETSUBucs.com.