Kent State University
Davidson College Invitational
Flashes 2nd in rain-soaked Davidson Inv. after round 1
3/3/2014 4:26:00 PM | Men's Golf
DAVIDSON, N.C. – No. 22/24 Kent State braved the cold and the wind to shoot a respectable 304 on Monday at River Run Country Club and trail only Tennessee after round one of the Davidson College Invitational.
With winds howling and temperatures dropping almost 20 degrees during the round, Golden Flashes senior Corey Conners fired a 1-over-par 73 that was bettered only by a 71 from Tennessee's Oliver Goss.
"This was one of the toughest days I've ever seen in 30-plus years of coaching," said Kent State head coach Herb Page. "The day started out at around 50 degrees and by the time we finished it was 30 and sleet was falling. It rained the entire round and the wind was gusting 15-to-20 miles per hour. The whole day was just a test of character, and I have no complaints about how we handled it."
Conners day included two birdies and three bogeys. He and fellow senior Taylor Pendrith both closed by birdying the difficult 544-yard, par-5 18th hole. The finish helped Pendrith battle back from hitting two tee shots out of bounds early in his round to shoot a fine 3-over-par 75.
Senior Kyle Kmiecik shot 77 in a round highlighted by three consecutive birdies on the back nine. Sophomores Sebastian Czyz Bendsen and Kody Fry shot 79 and 83, respectively.
Tennessee jumped to the top of the 14-team leaderboard with a 293 that put the Volunteers 11 shots ahead of Kent State heading into Tuesday's second and final round. The event was shortened from 54 to 36 holes prior to its start due to the expectation of bad weather.
Gardner-Webb closed round one in third place at 307 followed by host Davidson at 309.
"Our kids survived the weather and showed a lot of heart for our first tournament of the spring," said Page. "The score Tennessee shot was phenomenal. They have a pretty big lead, but we aren't out of it. We made some mistakes, but they were correctible mistakes."
Temperatures in Davidson, N.C. are expected to dip below 20 degrees overnight with snow flurries, "and because of that they were covering the greens with tarps when we left the golf course," said Page. "The high tomorrow is supposed to be 46, but they are not expecting any precipitation."
Tuesday's final round is scheduled to have live stats provided on Golfstat. The Flashes are scheduled to tee off at 10 a.m. in threesomes that include Tennessee and Gardner-Webb.
The Golden Flashes began the week ranked No. 22 in the nation by Golfweek and No. 24 by Golfstat.
