Oct. 20, 2013
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andy Seeley
UCFKnights.com
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WINDERMERE, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - After an 11th-place finish at last year's Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, UCF is looking for a better performance at the event in 2013. After the first round, the Knights are well on their way toward that improvement.
No. 16 UCF fired a 6-under score of 282 at Isleworth Golf & Country Club Sunday. That total left the Knights two shots off the lead, currently held by Alabama, the current No. 1 team in the Golfstat rankings.
We're a third of the way through, so nothing to get overly excited about yet, but we're off to a great start, head coach Bryce Wallor said. We saw a lot of birdies and a lot of great course-management decisions. After the first day, it looks like they executed pretty well.
UCF was paced by a 4-under round from senior Greg Eason, which was good enough to put him in a tie for fourth place after 18 holes. Eason played bogey-free for his first 13 holes, while racking up four birdies. A bogey on his 14th hole, the par-3 5th, was atoned for just one hole later, when he tallied a birdie on the par-4 6th.
That's just another outstanding round of golf, Wallor said. Four-under par. He just continues to shoot great round after great round. He's a good player. He's a smart kid. He just seems to improve week after week.
On a day where the No. 1 golfer in the lineup - Ricardo Gouveia - didn't contribute to the team score after coming in with a 5-over 77, the Knights got a boost from freshman Ryan Stovash. Playing in his first Isleworth Collegiate, the youngster put together a round with five birdies and three bogeys to card a 2-under 70 and sit in a tie for 10th.
(Ryan) has played well all fall, Wallor said. You see a guy who is maturing each week, getting better and learning. I'm really proud of him. He had a good day. He made a lot of birdies, had a couple hiccups out there, recovered well from them and got it back on track. That's the sign of a tough competitor.
Kyle Wilshire also turned in a solid round for UCF, tallying a 1-under 71. He signed a scorecard with three birdies and two bogeys to put himself in a tie for 16th after one round. Linus Vaisanen rounded out the team scoring for the Knights, shooting 73 (+1), which left him tied for 32nd.
UCF will hit the course at 9:40 a.m. for Monday's second round, which gets under way for the first groups at 8 a.m. Follow live scoring of the Isleworth Collegiate Inviational by clicking here. http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=4563