ALPHARETTA, Ga. (May 17, 2007) -- The 16th-ranked Georgia State golf team sits in fourth after a 1-under 289 opening round in the NCAA East Regional at the Golf Club of Georgia.

Only two teams were able to compile under par team totals with host school Georgia Tech in the overall lead at 4-under par.

"We got off to a good start today," said head coach Matt Clark. "We started out strong and finished strong and played some sloppy holes in between."

A senior and a freshman were able to lead the Panthers in the opening round. Senior Derek Oakey and freshman Tom Sherrard fired 1-under rounds of 71 and are tied for eighth. Oakey and Sherreard were just two of 14 players out of 141 golfers to end the first round under par.

"It was windy this afternoon, and it made the course a little tougher," Clark said. "This is a championship course, and it rewards good shots and punishes bad ones. I'm proud that Derek and Tom led us with a pair of 1-unders, and it was great to see the Panther fans come out and support us. I know the guys were able to feed off of that."

Sophomore Mark Haastrup finished with a 1-over 73 and is tied for 23rd. Junior Joel Sjoholm finished with a 2-over 74 and sits tied for 35th. Senior Ben Taylor finished his opening round with a 78 and is tied for 93rd.

State will tee off on the front nine at 7:18 a.m. Friday morning and is paired again with Georgia Tech and Coastal Carolina. Golfstat will provide live scoring.

2007 NCAA East Regional
Golf Club of Georgia
7,017 yards, Par 72