GREENSBURG, Pa. (May 9, 2019) – The no. 1 regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce University men's golf team began competition at the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional Thursday afternoon at the Totteridge Golf Club.

Last season during their march to the National Championship, the Ravens were deadlocked at second place shooting a 291 (+3) through 18 holes. This season, the Ravens share second with no. 2 ranked and Northeast-10 Conference opponent Southern New Hampshire University after totaling a 298 (+10) score. FPU and SNHU trail clubhouse leader Wilmington (Del.) University (296, +8) by two strokes and both squads hold a six-stroke edge over fellow league program Bentley University (304, +16).

"Our guys did a great job today," said head coach Tyler Bishop. "We played solid and put ourselves in a good position for the rest of the tournament."

Junior transfer Nathan Patterson (Conway, Mass.), golfing from the no. 5 spot in the rotation, carried the Ravens Thursday turning in a one under 71 performance. Patterson headed out to the back nine three under par due to a stretch of three straight holes in which he made birdie. Patterson is tied for second individually with Owen Elliott who is competing as an individual from Shepherd University. He is also tied for second with Tommy Ethier of Bentley in total birdies (5).  

Sophomore Dylan Plis (Camillus, N.Y.) tallied an even 72 on the day and recorded the only other top-20 finish for the Crimson and Grey as he shared fourth place with Ryan Smith of the California University of Pennsylvania and Braden McKay of Wilmington (Del.). Plis racked up a whopping 16 pars on 18 holes pacing the field of golfers. He bogeyed and birdied the other two holes to complete the even afternoon.

Junior Sam Myers (Colchester, Vt.) consistently produced a 76 (+4) with two birdies and 10 pars. Classmates Liam Donohue (Vernon, Conn.) and Keeton Foster (Spofford, N.H.) followed with 79 (+7) and 81 (+9) scorecards.

Patterson and the Ravens will tee off from the 10th tee box tomorrow bright and early at 7:30 a.m.

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).