W&J Opens NCAA Golf Championship Tournament In 28th Place
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. -- Senior Pete Petrides (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) and freshman Matt Stearns (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) both shot 78 Tuesday to lead the Washington & Jefferson College men's golf during day one of the 2012 NCAA Division III Championships at the Mission Inn Resort.
The Presidents carded 316 strokes as a team and are tied with Rhode Island College for 28th place out of 41 teams. W&J played its first round on the Las Colinas course and will move to the El Campeon course tomorrow morning.
The top five teams in the standings all played on the Las Colinas course, led by Oglethorpe's three-under par round of 285. Anthony Maccaglia of Ogelthorpe (Ga.) and Brad Shigezawa of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) lead in the individual standings after four-under par rounds of 68.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Christopher Newport (Va.) are second in the team standings with 289 strokes, while Methodist (N.C.) and Redlands (Calif.) round out the top five at 291 and 295, respectively.
Petrides and Stearns are tied for 57th place in the 210-golfer field. Petrides birdied three holes (1, 16, 17 -- all par 4's) en route to his six-over par round. Stearns birdied the par 4 seventh hole as well as the par 3 11th hole. He played the final 13 holes in one-over par.
Sophomore Colin Izzo (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) and freshman Ryan Mazza (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) both shot 80 and are tied for 126th place. Izzo had a pair of birdies, while Mazza notched three, including the 17th and 18th holes.
Freshman Matthew Long (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Notre Dame) posted a score of 85, including a birdie on the third hole and an eagle on the par 5 fifth. He is tied for 178th place.
W&J is making its fifth appearance at the national championship tournament after winning its 16th Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship.
