DANIELS, W.Va. (May 7, 2018) – The no. 8 regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce University men's golf competed in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional Monday morning at the Resort at Glade Springs.

The Crimson and Grey totaled one of their best rounds in program history as they are currently tied for second place in the 20-team field with West Liberty University and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania at 291 (+3). FPU is only one stroke back of first place Saint Thomas Aquinas College while fellow Northeast-10 Conference opponents Le Moyne College (fifth place, 292, +4), Southern New Hampshire University (tied 11th place, 301, +13) and Bentley University (tied 14th place, 304, +16) are all behind the Ravens on the leaderboard.

"The guys played great today and we had a lot of fun out there," said assistant coach C.J. Konkowski. "We're happy with how the round went and we still have a lot of golf to play but it's always good to start well and get into position. We're going to build on today's round and keep the momentum going for the rest of the week."

Sam Myers (Colchester, Vt.) paced Franklin Pierce with a two under 70 (-2) scorecard. He is currently tied for third place individually with Joe Petrin of Le Moyne, Michael Miranda of STAC and Mike Hoare of Indiana – Pennsylvania. Myers led the field of golfers with six total birdies and ranked fifth in par 5 scoring (4.25, -3).

Taylor Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) participated in round one from the five position. The senior tallied pars on the entire front nine and recorded a stretch of 11 straight pars. He is deadlocked into eighth place at 71 (-1), is second overall in par 4 scoring (3.80, -2) and tied for second in total pars (15). Dylan Plis (Camillus, N.Y.) rounded out the Ravens top-20 performances as the freshman tied for 17th at 73 (+1). Plis eagled on the second green, a par 5 – 520 hole, he was one of only five golfers to notch an eagle through the opening round.  

Keeton Foster (Spofford, N.H.) carded 77 (+5) Monday and teammate Liam Donohue (Vernon, Conn.) chipped in an 81 (+9) to wrap up the Raven scoring.

Simpson and the Ravens will tee off from hole one tomorrow at noon.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce golf apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store). You can also follow the golf programs on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPU_GOLF).