Oct. 24, 2008

• Columbia Invitational - Day 1 Results

GALLOWAY, N.J. -- Following the first of three rounds of play at the 15-team Columbia Invitational, the Navy golf team stands 13th after posting a 33-over par 317 Friday afternoon at the Galloway National Golf Course. The Galloway National Golf Course will serve as host to one of the three regionals for the 2009 NCAA?Div. I?Men's Golf Championship.

A frost delay pushed the start of the tournament back an hour, and the tough conditions prevented anyone from shooting under par. Georgetown, Eastern Kentucky and St. John's are deadlocked atop the standings with each posting a 17-over par 301, followed by Penn in fourth just strokes back, while Connecticut and Florida each turned in a 21-over par 305 to fall in a tie for fifth place.

Penn's Michael Blodgett holds a narrow one-stroke lead over the field after producing an even-par 71. while three players are tied for second with a 1-over par 72.

As he has in three of the four previously played tournaments, David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio) is pacing the Navy squad with a 6-over par 77. Positioned in 26th place, Miller took three strokes off his score on the back nine. Just one stroke separates each of the final four golfers in Navy's lineup, led off by sophomore Marcus Heyland (Fort Madison, Iowa) who is tied for 38th with an 8-over par. Senior Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.) is in 46th with a 9-over par 80, followed by second-year standout Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) in 55th with an 81 and senior Eric Stinson (Spotsylvania, Va.) in 61st with an 11-over par 82.

Rookie Collier Jones (Little Rock, Ark.) also made the trip for the Midshipmen where he is playing as an individual. He stands tied for 75th with a 16-over par 86.

"This is a very difficult course to play," said Navy head coach Pat Owen. "There are some strong teams in this tournament and for no team or player to shoot under par shows how challenging a course this really is.

"Even though we didn't shoot as well as we would have liked today, tomorrow is another opportunity for us to get out there and improve. Having had a day out on the course will likely have an impact on everyone's scores tomorrow, though weather might throw a curve ball into the mix."

The Mids, who are just five strokes out of 10th place, enter Saturday's second round with a 9-stroke lead over Villanova and a 12-stroke lead over Princeton. A shotgun start is scheduled for 9:00 am.