HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – Facing the toughest teams in the country, Clayton State men's golf delivered one of the most impressive performances in recent memory as they shot a nine-over 297 to finish Day 1 of the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional in fourth place out of 20 teams on Thursday, May 9.
 
In a regional featuring 13 nationally ranked programs, including seven in the Top-10 and the defending national champions, the Lakers showed they belonged through the first 18 holes. Leading the charge were freshman Javier Gonzalez (San Jose del Cabo, Mexico) and senior Andres Caballero (Mexico City, Mexico), who each shot a 71 to tie for fifth out of 108 golfers. That positions them just two strokes off the tournament lead.
 
Junior Nick Woof (Leighton Buzzard, England) was the next highest finisher in a tie for 51^st with a round of 77 with freshman Augusto Oliva (Buenos Aires, Argentina) tied for 59^th at 78 and sophomore Raul Carbonell (Panama City, Panama) rounded things out in a tie for 74^th at 79.  
 
Leading the way after Day 1 is No. 10 Lincoln Memorial (285) followed by defending national champion No. 2 Lynn (288) and No. 3 West Florida (288) in a tie for second. With their round of 297, Clayton State is ahead of 10 nationally ranked programs.
 
That list includes T-No. 25 Columbus State (5^th), No. 1 Barry (6^th), No. 14 Limestone (7^th), No. 8 Florida Southern (8^th), No. 17 Saint Leo (T9^th), No. 15 Carson-Newman (T12^th), No. 7 Florida Tech (T12^th), T-No. 5 Nova Southeastern (T12^th), No. 11 Young Harris (15^th) and No. 22 Rollins (18^th).
 
The pursuit of being one of the top seven teams, and the berth in the national championships that comes with it, will continue tomorrow, Friday, May 10 with another 18 holes. For the Lakers, that will begin bright and early at 8:20 a.m. as they will be paired with Columbus State and Florida Tech as the second group to tee off.
 
Follow the action all day through live scoring and check in on www.ClaytonStateSports.com for all the coverage following Round 2 of the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional.