Alpharetta, Ga. - Playing as an individual, freshman Victor Lavin shot an opening round 71 to stand in a tie for third after one day of the Yellow Jacket Classic hosted by Georgia Tech at the Golf Club of Georgia. The Panthers are tied for fourth in their final warm-up before next week's CAA Championship.
Georgia State shot an opening round 309 in the five-team field. Host Georgia Tech leads the field by 11 strokes after an opening day 284 Saturday. UNC Wilmington is in second at 7-over par, followed by UAB in third after at 15-over. Following the Panthers is Troy, which shot 330 on Saturday.
Lavin tied a season low, shooting 34 on the front nine, followed by a 37 on the back nine of the Lakeside Course.
"I am extremely happy with the way that Victor played today," commented head coach Joe Inman. "He has been working hard on his game all spring and the results finally came to fruition today. I look forward to continuing to see his improvement."
Freshman Tyler Gruca stands in a tie for 14th following an opening day 76. Fellow freshman Ross Mclister stands just one stroke back in a tie for 15th after shooting 77 on Saturday.
Seniors Alan Fowler and Brent Paul each shot 78 over the opening 18 holes and stand in a tie for 17th.
Redshirt-junior Jared Cagle, also competing as an individual, shot 80 on Saturday and is tied for 20th.
Freshman Grant Cagle is tied for 27th with senior Tommy Caswell as each shot 85.
A trio of Yellow Jackets are atop of the individual leaderboard. J.T. Griffin fired a 3-under par 69 to stand in first heading into Sunday's final round. Kyle Scott stands in second after shooting 70, followed by Paul Haley, tied with Lavin for third following a 71. UAB's Jason Shufflebottam and UNC Wilmington's Thomas Bass stand tied for fifth following a pair of even par rounds of 72.
The five-team tournament will conclude play on the par 72, 7,017-yard course on Sunday with tee times beginning at 1 p.m.
Following this weekend, the Panthers will finish preparations for the CAA Championship which begin next Friday in Pinehurst, N.C. A win at Pinehurst No. 8 will send the Panthers to the NCAA Regionals for the 11th time in 13 years.
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