BETHLEHEM, Pa. – All five scoring players shot 78 or lower as the Lehigh men’s golf team shot a first-round 302 Saturday in the opening round of the Lehigh Invitational on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club. Junior Alex DiClemente shot 74 to lead the Mountain Hawks, who sit in fourth place in the eight team field after 18 holes of action.
DiClemente is tied for 11th in the 45 player field. Lehigh’s other scoring players included sophomore Carlos Kim, who shot 75 and is tied for 13th, junior Andrew Arnold who sits in 15th place after a 75, senior Sean Keller, who shot 77 to tie for 16th and freshman Harley Abrams, who shot 78 and is tied for 22nd place.
Three other Mountain Hawks competed as individuals, with senior Chris Hornat leading the way with a 78. Freshman Johnny Hedyt shot 79 and is tied for 27th, while sophomore Zach Allinson shot an opening round of 82.
The top two individuals come from Villanova with Michael Kanla shooting 68 and Steve Skurla firing a 70. Four others are tied for third at 71.
With Kanla and Skurla leading the way, Villanova shot an impressive team score of 284 to take an 11-shot lead over Fordham into the final day of competition. Rutgers sits in third place at 300, two strokes ahead of Lehigh, with Bucknell six shots behind the Mountain Hawks in fifth.
The Lehigh Invitational will conclude with 18 holes on Sunday, beginning with a shotgun start at 9:30 from the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club.