Men's Golf | April 28, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. - A pair of La Salle University men's golfers posted one-under par scores of 71 to lead the Explorers on the opening day of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championships. Freshman Evan Gaesser and sophomore Nick Gruber are tied for 19th individually after combining for an impressive 13 birdies. As a team, the Explorers posted a 291, their ninth sub-300 round of the season which sets a new program record.

Gaesser totaled an even-par 36 on the front nine, as two birdies and two bogeys balanced the scorecard. The freshman alternated birdie-bogey between the 10th and 13th holes, before moving to two-under par by registering birdies on both of the par-5's on the back nine. A bogey on the final hole bumped him down a stroke, but his six birdies are tied for third in the field and his score of 71 is tied for the sixth-best round of any freshman in La Salle history.

It was a tale of two nines for Gruber, who shot two-over par 38 on the front, including a double-bogey five on the par-3 third hole. But after the turn, the Cincinnati native got hot and tallied four birdies against just one bogey for a three-under par 33. The seven birdies on his round tied him for the most by any individual in the field and the 71 is Gruber's top round as a collegiate golfer.

Senior P.J. Acierno had the best front nine of any Explorer, making the turn at three-under par 33. Two hiccups - a bogey-double bogey on holes 15 and 16 - were the only blemishes on the back nine as he settled for even-par 72. Sophomore Nick Geiman shot a 77 while senior Joe Markmann closed with a 78, which included five birdies through the first 15 holes.

Richmond and George Washington hold the team lead after each shooting 15-under par 273, while Richmond's Zach Justice fired a six-under 66 to sit atop the individual leaderboard with GW's Vince Palazzolo.

The second round of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championship will be held on Saturday, April 29, beginning at 7:30 a.m.