ROCKY FACE, Ga. (Sep. 15, 2006) -- As the defending Carpet Capital Collegiate champions, the Georgia State men's golf team did what it needed to do on Day 1 in order to put itself in a position to repeat as champs. The Panthers find themselves in fourth place after a 2-under round of 286. Alabama leads the tournament with a 12-under round of 276.
On a day when the Panthers did not get the best play out of their No. 1 Mark Haastrup, who shot a 1-over 73, other members of the squad stepped up to the challenge. Senior Ben Taylor and freshman Tom Sherreard both shot 2-under rounds of 70 to lead the team. Junior Joel Sjoholm matched Haastrup with a round of 73 and senior Derek Oakey finished with an 82.
"We had a solid day out there," said head coach Matt Clark. "We had a number of quality golf shots out there and Ben Taylor hit 18 greens in regulation. We had a few hiccups but it is always good to start the first round out under par."
Taylor and Sherreard are tied at 13 with a host of individuals seeking to claim the individual title. Haastrup won the title in 2005.
Playing in his first collegiate tournament, Sherreard's 2-under may have been a surprise to some but not to his head coach.
"It is nice to see a freshman step up and shoot under par in his first tournament," Clark said. "I knew he could play and I thought he did a pretty good job his first time out."
State still has some ground to make up in order to repeat with Alabama at 12-under and Clemson 10-under. The Panthers are only one stroke behind the third place team N.C. State.
The Carpet Capital Collegiate continues on Saturday with the Panthers set to tee off starting at 9:15 a.m. Golfstat will provide live scoring of the event. Georgia State at Carpet Capital Round 2.
Saturday Tee Times
9:15 Derek Oakey
9:24 Mark Haastrup
9:33 Joel Sjoholm
9:42 Tom Sherreard
9:51 Ben Taylor
Team Results (Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic, The Farm, Rocky Face, Ga.)
1. Alabama -- 276 −12
2. Clemson -- 278 −10
3. North Carolina State -- 285 −3
4. Georgia State -- 286 −2
T5. Augusta State -- 289 +1
T5. Wake Forest Univ. -- 289 +1
T5. Duke University -- 289 +1
T5. Georgia Tech -- 289 +1
T9. Tennessee -- 290 +2
T9. Vanderbilt -- 290 +2
T9. East Tennessee St. -- 290 +2
12. Florida -- 293 +5
13. Georgia -- 295 +7
T14. Auburn -- 297 +9
T14. Texas Tech -- 297 +9
16. TCU -- 299 +11
17. Texas -- 307 +19
18. South Carolina -- 309 +21
Georgia State individual results
T13. Tom Sherreard -- 70 −2
T13. Ben Taylor -- 70 −2
T30. Mark Haastrup -- 73 +1
T30. Joel Sjoholm -- 73 +1
T88. Derek Oakey -- 82 +10
