ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – Sophomore Noah Steiner was the lowest-scoring member of the Ursinus College men's golf team for the third consecutive round as the Bears opened the Centennial Conference Championship with a 327 on Friday.
Ursinus carded a team tally of 327, its best score at the conference tournament since the final round of the 2013 championship, and its lowest in the first round since 2010. At the conclusion of the first of three rounds at The Bridges Golf Club, the Bears were in seventh place but trailing Dickinson by just five strokes.
Franklin & Marshall shot a 3-over 291 to take a 10-shot lead into the weekend. Muhlenberg (301) was second, followed by Swarthmore (303), Gettysburg (304), McDaniel (306), Dickinson (322), and Ursinus (327).
The Bears' top four golfers finished with either an 81 or an 82 in a consistent performance. Steiner found himself in a tie for 26th place overall after firing an 81 at the 6713-yard, par-72 track; he birdied the par-4 2nd and the par-4 14th hole and scattered eight pars across his third straight round of 82 or better.
Freshmen Ryan Hodgdon and Brian Barrett each shot 82 in their first taste of championship action, and junior Ryan Crawford matched them.
Barrett carded three birdies over the final six holes – the par-4 13th, the par-5 15th, and the par-5 18th – en route to a 38 on the back nine. Hodgdon had nine pars, while Crawford notched six pars and a birdie on the par-4 12th.
Senior Anthony Barbine scored a 91.
Steiner tees off with the first group at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with the rest of the Bears to follow shortly after.