BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Lee's George Cordall fired a 6-under 66 and is tied for medalist honors with Luis Palomo and David Vega Gerstel of West Texas A&M after the opening round of the NCAA DII Men's National Championship which is being played at the Boulder Creek Golf Course. Teammate Bennett McNabb followed with a 4-under 68 to lead the Flames into a tie for third place with Florida Southern (8-under 280).
 
The leaders after the first 18 are West Texas A&M and Missouri St. Louis with a 10-under 278. Georgia Southwestern and Colorado Christian round out the top five teams with a 5-under 283. Twenty teams are taking part in the tournament.
 
Cordall posted five birdies on the back side in finishing with a 6-under 66. It was a different story for McNabb. He scored an eagle on No. 1, but had a pair of bogeys before knocking home four birdies in his round of 4-under 68.
 
Tucker Wick also had an up-and-down round. He turned in five birdies, but a pair of double bogeys gave him an even-par 72. Drew Zielinski struggled during round one and tallied a 2-over 74 while Billy Boroughs' 4-over 76 did not count in Lee's top four.  
 
The Flames will begin teeing off at 4:15 EST on Tuesday in the second round of the 54-hole stroke play portion of the tourney.
 

Coach Evan Spence's thoughts:
"Great start today thanks to some awesome rounds from George and Bennett. We did a nice job of being the aggressor out there today and put up a ton of birdies which was great to see as well. If we can limit the mistakes and clean up some of those bigger numbers the rest of the week, we're going to be in a great spot. Excited to keep it rolling!"