Georgia State senior Joel Sjoholm shot a three-under par 69 to tie for the lead in the first round of the U.S. Collegiate Championship at the Golf Club of Georgia, as the 48th-ranked Georgia State University men's golf team sits in eighth place ahead of three top-10 teams with a team score of 298 (+10) in Alpharetta on Monday.

Sjoholm, who is ranked fifth nationally by GolfWeek.com and sixth by GolfStat.com, carded four birdies and just one bogey in a near flawless round amid chilling wind gusts and occasional snow flurries.

The native of Sweden led the Panthers on day one, who posted a team score of 298 to sit just eight strokes off the overall lead held by third-ranked UCLA over the 15-team field. Georgia State currently leads three teams from the national top 10 ? second-ranked Georgia, fourth-ranked Charlotte and ninth-ranked Stanford ? and a total of six teams from the top 50.

“This is a tough course and an even tougher field, but my guys hung in there today and played some good golf on a cold day,” said Georgia State head coach Matt Clark, whose team is playing the seventh-toughest schedule nationally. “Joel [Sjoholm] put himself in a great position with a solid, clean first round and he looked like one of the top players in the country today, which he is. We just want to keep up our strong play and go out tomorrow and try to shoot even lower.”

Sjoholm currently leads 12 players ranked in the top 25 and 24 players from the top 75 in the 78-player field, and last year's Colonial Athletic Association Golfer of the Year has twice won in inclement weather this year.

In October, Sjoholm claimed the individual championship of the Club Glove Intercollegiate contending with Santa Ana winds and falling ash from the nearby historic San Diego wildfires. He then claimed his second title in February at the John Hayt Collegiate, where players battled torrential rain and coastal wind gusts.

Sjoholm has two individual titles and a second-place showing in his last four team events.

In addition to Sjoholm's strong play, freshman Alex Castro sits in a tie for 24 after a first-round score of 74 (+2), highlighted by four birdies.

“Castro played a focused round today and displayed his talent,” added Clark.

Completing State's five-man lineup were sophomores Tom Sherreard, who ranks 77th nationally and sits tied for 41 (77, +5), and Maurice Jordan, who rests tied for 51th (78, +6), as well as junior Tim Freund who tied for 66th (81, +9).

Georgia State finished tied for fourth in last year's U.S. Collegiate Championship, as Sjoholm claimed a tie for third and Sherreard tied for 20th.

Second-round action will begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, with the Panthers will be teeing off from the 10th tee starting at 11:20 a.m. Georgia State will be paired with Georgia and host Georgia Tech in the final five threesomes of the day.

Live scoring for the event can be found at GolfStat.com, but Panther fans are encouraged to attend the event. For information on the U.S. Collegiate Championships visit TheUSCC.org.

Results will be posted to GeorgiaStateSports.com following each round of play.

Georgia State Individual Results:

T1 ? Joel Sjoholm, Sr. ? 69

T24 ? Alex Castro, Fr. ? 74

T44 ? Tom Sherreard, So. ? 77

T51 ? Maurice Jordan, So. ? 78

T66 ? Tim Freund, Jr. ? 81

Team Results: