WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Despite rainy conditions and temperatures in the 40s, freshman Tommi Avant shot a career-low 68 (-2) to be in second place and lead the Drake University men's golf team on the first day of the Kingsmill Intercollegiate on Sunday.

The Bulldogs are tied for eighth place with Maryland with a score of 292 and are just eight strokes away from first-place Tennessee (284) in the 24-team field.

"We had a solid round in tough conditions. The pace was also slow at about six hours which was also a challenge," Drake head coach Matt Lewis said. "Tommi played great today! Jack (Kennedy) and Drew (Ison) hit it pretty well but didn't score as well as they would have liked but finished with good scores.

Avant's 68 marked the lowest round for a Bulldog this season and put him a shot behind first place Charles Huntzinger from Penn State. Sophomore Drew Ison and freshman Jack Kennedy both carded a 74 and are tied for 42^nd place. Senior Blake Huser registered a 76, while Matt Lavery rounded out the Bulldogs' effort with a 77.

The Bulldogs will play in the second round of the Kingsmill Intercollegiate on Tuesday at 9 a.m. EST.