University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Conference USA Championships
Golf Tied for Sixth at Conference USA Championships
4/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 25, 2010
First-Round Results | Live Scoring | Season Statistics
SORRENTO, Fla. - The University of Houston golf team stood in a tie for sixth place Sunday following the first day of the Conference USA Championships at RedTail Golf Club.
The Cougars, who equaled the total of No. 43 SMU on the first day, posted a team score of 303 in a round that saw its lineup post a combined 13 birdies.
Although Sunday's first-round action featured overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-80s, players were challenged by winds gusting up to 20 mph, making the course much harder than it typically plays.
Host UCF stood atop the first-day team leaderboard after posting a score of 4-over-par Sunday with Rice three strokes back at 295. Tulsa (297), Memphis (300) and East Carolina (301) rounded out the top-five team leaders.
Following the Cougars and SMU, Southern Miss (304), UAB (311), UTEP (311) and Marshall (314) completed the field. After the round, Houston first-year head coach Jonathan Dismuke said he was pleased with his team's performance, especially at the beginning, which has been a challenge for the Cougars at times this season.
"We got off to a pretty good start. We had a chance to play really well," Dismuke said. "We gave a couple of shots on the final nine holes, but all in all it was a decent start."
Individually, junior Matt Eschenburg led the Cougars with a 74 on Sunday to stand in a tie for 10th place. Eschenburg, a native of the The Woodlands, Texas, was the Cougars' most consistent player in the first round, carding two birdies.
Junior Justin Kaplan, who joined the Cougars at the semester break after transferring from Minnesota, posted a 75, including a pair of birdies, to tie for 17th place.
Senior Jackie Lindsey led the Cougars with four birdies, including three on the first nine holes he played Sunday, and finished in a tie for 21st place with a 76.
Other Cougars in action were redshirt freshman Joseph Reynolds (78, t-36th) and junior Clark Mitzner (80, t-43rd).
"Justin and Matt both had solid rounds. They both have the ability to shoot a low score and fought it out throughout the day," Dismuke said. "Any time you can hang around the top 15, you are contributing to the team and how we want to finish."
Tulsa's Rob Laird fired a 3-under-par 69 in the Championships' first day to stand one stroke ahead of Rice's Christopher Brown. They were the only players to shoot under par for the round. UCF's Simon Ward and Rice's Michael Whitehead tied for third with an even-par 72.
The 54-hole tournament, which features 18 holes each day, runs through Tuesday and tees off at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) every morning on the 7,152-yard, par-72 course.
Fans can follow live scoring each day by visiting UHCougars.com, Golfstat.com or ConferenceUSA.com.
The winner of the league's annual postseason tournament, which is sponsored by C-USA, UCF and the Central Florida Sports Commission, earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
This marks the second straight season that the Cougars competed at RedTail Golf Club at the C-USA Championships. A year ago, the Cougars finished seventh with Lindsey, Eschenburg and Mitzner each competing.
Players Mentioned
