April 24, 2011
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
TEXARKANA, Ark. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's golf team opened play at the 2011 Conference USA Championship Sunday, and the Knights are tied for eighth after 18 holes at the Texarkana Country Club. UCF freshman Greg Eason (Leicester City, England) is tied for fourth individually.
The Knights, who are seeking their third-consecutive C-USA Championship crown, posted a 5-over 293 during the first round. UCF is tied with Marshall. SMU is atop the leaderboard at 278 (-10), followed by Memphis (281, -7) and Houston (288, E).
Play at the three-day event will resume Monday morning with the start of the second round. The final 18 holes will be played Tuesday. The tournament champion receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
Eason opened the tournament by carding a 3-under 69. He is just two shots behind SMU's Max Buckley and Memphis' Jonathan Fly, who are tied for first at 67 (-5).
Joining Eason in the top 25 for the Knights is junior Brad Schneider (Valrico, Fla.). He is tied for 23rd at 73 (+1). Fellow junior Connor Arendell (Cape Coral, Fla.) is tied for 38th (75, +3) and senior Nuno Henriques (Funchal, Portugal) is tied for 42nd (76, +4). Freshman Kyle Wilshire (Georgetown, Ky.) is also in action for the Knights. He enters the second round tied for 54th (82, +10).
A year ago, Henriques, Arendell and Schneider all tied for second at the C-USA Championship in Sorrento, Fla. In total, four Knights recorded top-10 finishes.
UCF is looking to become the first C-USA program to win three-straight league titles since TCU claimed four in a row from 2002-05.
Team Leaders
1. SMU 278 (-10)
2. Memphis 281 (-7)
3. Houston 288 (E)
T4. Tulsa 289 (+1)
East Carolina (+1)
T8. UCF 293 (+5)
UCF Golfers
T4. Greg Eason 69 (-3)
T23. Brad Schneider 73 (+1)
T38. Connor Arendell 75 (+3)
T42. Nuno Henriques 76 (+4)
T54. Kyle Wilshire 82 (+10)