MOBILE, Ala. – Bolstered by a first-round performance in which all five individuals in the lineup shot below par, the University of South Alabama men's golf program concluded the first day of play Monday at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate with a two-stroke advantage in the team standings after 36 holes.

With an 11-under-par 565 total — highlighted by the low 18-hole score of the day, a 10-under-par 278 in the morning — the Jaguars will enter the final round of the event two shots in front of Louisville and six ahead of Mississippi State, with the field including 15 schools in all.

"I'm excited for our guys; they came out here and fought really hard and played some extremely good golf, especially in the morning round shooting 10-under par," South head coach Alex Hamilton said.  "Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to follow up a good round with a good round and shoot under par again, so to do that was a good day for us.  We're looking forward to the challenge of trying to win a golf tournament tomorrow."

Four of five Jags ended the opening day among the top 15 of the individual standings, paced by Brooks Rabren's 4-under-par 140 total.  Jason Mendel is one shot in back of the sophomore, and one in front of the duo of Drew Cooke and Sylas Elliott, with Peter Staalbo contributing a 145 score over two rounds to conclude play in a tie for 25th place.

"To have Peter shoot under par this morning and throw that out, that's a pretty good round," said Hamilton.  "That doesn't happen very often, so for us to throw out a 1-under 71 was an exceptional round of golf.  In the afternoon our high score was 2 over, that's two good, solid rounds of golf.  I know it is on our home course, but the kids were prepared, they practiced hard and it showed in these two rounds.  Hopefully it will show again tomorrow."

In the first of two rounds at the par-72, 7,212-yard Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course, Rabren had a bogey-free 69 in the first round; his first birdie of the day came at the 540-yard fourth, while he would later card back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16.  He began the afternoon with consecutive birdies on the first two holes, adding a third at No. 11 — playing at 398 yards — en route to a 71, as he has now shot par or better in four of six rounds this season.

Mendel was also under par in both rounds on the day, opening with a season-low 70 before posting a 71 his second time around the venue.  The junior was even par on the course's front nine in the morning with a birdie on the 412-yard seventh and a pair of threes on Nos. 10 and 12, while he carded birdies on the third, fourth and ninth holes over the second 18 holes to make the turn at 3 under.

Elliott's only bogey in the opening round of play came on first hole, but after responding with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 to go along with two more after posting threes on the 10th and 15th he matched Rabren for the team's low score of the day while recording his fifth round of par or better on the year.  He finished the day with a team-leading seven birdies by carding a four at the fourth as well as threes at Nos. 9 and 12 while shooting 73 in the afternoon.

Cooke now has six scores at or below par this season after posting a 70 in the opening round and following up with a 72 over the second 18 holes.  The senior had birdies on Nos. 3, 7 and 13 his first time around the course, and three more in the afternoon with all of those coming on par fives after carding fours at the fourth, sixth and 16th holes.

Staalbo's score in the morning — his team-best seventh of par or better this season — included birdies at Nos. 1 and 6 on the front side of the course and the 13th and 16th on the back nine, and he recorded a three again at the 422-yard first to close out his second round.

In the individual standings, Rabren trails Alexander Herrmann of Georgia State — who posted scores of 71 and 67 for a 138 total — by two shots, while he is one behind Louisville's Nicolas Platret.  Three others are tied with Rabren including Fernando Cruz Valle of Louisiana-Lafayette, who along with Chattanooga's Wes Gosselin recorded the low round of the day with 66s in the morning.

The Jaguars also have a pair of freshmen in the top three of the USA Individual Tournament, being contested at the par-71, 7,158-yard Magnolia Grove Falls Golf Course, after Rasmus Karlsson posted an even-par 142 total over 36 holes and Yannick Schütz carded a 143.  Stephen Wall also stands in the top 20 among the 37 competitors in the field, ending the opening day of the event tied for 16th with a 149 total.

Both Karlsson and Schütz recorded 1-under-par 70s in the morning, with the score the best of the latter's career.  Karlsson parred each of first 15 holes, and after bogey on the 16th he wrapped up the opening round with a three at the 388-yard 17th and a four at No. 18, playing at 552 yards; he ended his final hole of the day with an eagle three at the 18th as well.   Schütz birdied Nos. 5 and 10 over the opening 18 holes, while both of his second-round birdies came on par fives on the back nine after he turned the trick again at the 10th and added another four at No. 18.  Both of Wall's birdies on day one were on par threes, as he accomplished the feat at the 190-yard sixth in the morning as well as No. 13 — playing at 169 yards — over the second 18 holes.

Both tournaments are scheduled for an 8 a.m. (CST) shotgun start on Tuesday.

"The tricky part about golf, and the trickiest part about sport in general, is you have to play the same way," Hamilton observed.  "You have to play the game the right way with the right mindset, you have to continue to process things the same way.  If anything, we did have a small stretch in the middle toward the end of our round in the afternoon where we started to not necessarily process things the same way, but hopefully we can get back to the way we did things for the first 27 holes and continue to play well."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—

Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate
Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course, Mobile, Ala.
Par 72, 7,212 yards
Team Scores: 1) South Alabama 278-287—565 (-11); 2) Louisville 284-283—567; 3) Mississippi State 281-290—571; 4) Georgia State 289-283—572; 5) Chattanooga 286-288—574; T6) Cincinnati 290-287—577; T6) Kansas State 287-290—577; 8) Southern Mississippi 296-286—582; 9) Texas State 294-289—583; 10) Western Kentucky 287-298—585; 11) West Virginia 292-295—587; 12) Louisiana-Lafayette 294-296—590; 13) Illinois State 297-302—599; 14) Abilene Christian 303-298—601; 15) Alcorn State 305-304—609.

Individual Leaders: 1) Alexander Herrmann, GSU 71-67—138 (-6); 2) Nicolas Platret, UofL 70-69—139; T3) Brooks Rabren, USA 69-71—140; T3) Linus Lo, WKU 68-72—140; T3) Fernando Cruz Valle, ULL 66-74—140; T3) Tanapat Pichaikool, MSU 68-72—140; T7) Jason Mendel, USA 70-71—141; T7) Wes Gosselin, UTC 66-75—141; T7) Keegan de Lange, UofL 73-68—141; T7) Phillip Hickam, UTC 73-68—141.

South Alabama Scores: T3) Brooks Rabren 69-71—140 (-4); T7) Jason Mendel 70-71—141; T11) Sylas Elliott 69-73—142; T11) Drew Cooke 70-72—142; T25) Peter Staalbo 71-74—145.