ALTOONA MEN'S GOLF STARTS NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 34TH PLACE

The Penn State Altoona men’s golf team opened its sixth appearance in an NCAA postseason event on Tuesday, when the Lions teed off round one of the NCAA Division III Championships at Keene Trace Golf Club. 

Tuesday’s round was marked by multiple weather delays. The tournament got underway with a shotgun start at 11:15 a.m., after inclement weather during the morning pushed the original start time back several hours. Weather interruptions continued throughout the day, as lightning storms forced more stoppages in play during the afternoon. 

Despite the disjointed play, the round was completed by all teams, and Penn State Altoona finished its day by shooting 315 to hold 34th place out of 43 teams. 

Saint John’s University (Minn.) ended the day in first place with 284, while Illinois Wesleyan University and Christopher Newport University were second and third with respective scores of 285 and 286. 

Penn State Altoona started the tournament on the par 72 Keene Run course, one of the two courses at Keene Trace Golf Club used for this week’s NCAA Tournament. 

Jack DiTrani shot a season-low 73, 1-over par, for the Lions, finishing the round in a tie for 35th place out of 221 individual golfers. Trey Heffelfinger fired a 5-over 77 to tie for 111th place. 

Owen Wise shot 82, Joey Toth carded an 83, and Peter Nusbaum scored 87 to round out Penn State Altoona’s starting five. 

The second round of the NCAA championships commences tomorrow, Wednesday, May 17, with Penn State Altoona’s tee times scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The Lions will shift to the Champion Trace course for day two, when the team will look to make up ground on the leaderboard.