HPU Men’s Golf In Fifth After Day One Of The Donald Ross Intercollegiate

• High Point shot 283 in the first round and 287 in the second to end the day in fifth at the Donald Ross Intercollegiate
• Sophomore Jack Sides was the Panthers top finisher, ending the day in fifth with a score of 137 (69-68)
• Redshirt-freshman AJ Hopkins also ended the day in the top 10 with an even-par 140 (70-70)

Morganton, N.C. – The High Point University men’s golf team shot a combined 572 (283-289) through the first two rounds of the Donald Ross Intercollegiate in Morganton, North Carolina to end the day in fifth out of 10 teams.

“We struck the ball really well today,” head coach Greg Flesher said. “I am very proud of the way that AJ Hopkins and Alex Hefner played. Neither of them had their best game but they both battled tremendously. Jack Sides was great out there yet again. We really struggled with the Par-3 holes and that was the difference between us and the top of the leaderboard. We hit some great shots today and I am really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Sophomore Jack Sides shot a one-under 69 in the first round and a two-under 68 in the second to end the first day of the tournament in fifth place with a total two-round score of 137. Redshirt-freshman AJ Hopkins also posted a top-10 finish after shooting an even-par 140 (69-71) in the first two rounds to end tied for 10th.

Freshman Alex Hefner shot a combined 145 (72-73) through the first two rounds of his first collegiate tournament to end the day in a tie for 25th while senior LJ Georgetti shot 150 (73-77) and finished in 46th. Freshman Emile Menard rounded out the HPU five, shooting 74-82 to finish in a tie for 62nd with a total score of 156.

Freshman Pureun Kim and sophomore Alex Thompson competed as individuals in the tournament and ended the first day in 53rd and a tie for 62nd respectively. Kim shot 71-81 to finish with a 36-hole score of 152 while Thompson shot 80-76 for a two-round total of 156.

Jacksonville sits atop the team standings after day one of the tournament with a combined score of 554 (278-278). The Dolphins hold a 14-stroke lead over both Wofford (277-291) and Presbyterian College (284-284), which are tied for second with matching scores of 568. Grand Canyon sits in fourth with a score of 570 (287-283), two shots clear of HPU in fifth.

Franck Medale of Jacksonville carded a score of 129 (63-66) through the first two rounds to end the day in front in the race for the individual medal. Medale leads by one stroke over Davia Parker from Presbyterian College (63-67) and by five strokes over the Blue Hose’s Sam Jackson (67-67) and Jackson Spires of East Carolina.

The Panthers will tee off in the third and final round of the Donald Ross Intercollegiate at the Mimosa Hills Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 14, beginning at 8:30 a.m.