March 24, 2007

BETHANY BEACH, Del. - Navy junior Ryan Sload (Lancaster, Pa.) shot a 2-over par 74 to pace the Midshipmen in Saturday's opening round of the George Washington Golf Invitational played at the par-72 Bear Trap Dunes Golf Course on the Delaware Shore. Penn is atop the 24-team leader board with a 2-under par 286, four strokes ahead of Seton Hall.

The Midshipmen are tied with Bucknell and Hofstra for 15th with an 18-over par 306, but could easily move into the top five with a strong performance in the final round. The ninth-place team is George Washington who shot a 301, while there is a three-way tie for 10th with a 303, followed by Connecticut in 13th with a 304 and Mount St. Mary's is just a stroke ahead of the Mids in 14th.

Sload will head into the final day of competition tied for 23rd, while second-year standout Eric Stinson (Spotsylvania, Va.) turned in a 4-over par 76 and is in 44th. All-Patriot League performer Chris Renninger (Darnestown, Md.) is a stroke behind Stinson with a 77 and is tied for 58th. Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.) posted an 7-over par 79 and sits tied for 76th, while sophomore John Montemayor (Woodbridge, Va.) rounded out the Navy lineup with an 8-over par 80 and is tied for 85th.

"The standings are pretty close after the first day and I have confidence that with a solid performance tomorrow, we can move up in the standings," said Navy head coach Pat Owen. "It's early in the season yet and we are still working some kinks out, but we are looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow to improve our team standing."

Tournament action resumes Sunday morning with the first tee time at 8:00 a.m.