DANIELS, W.Va. (May 8, 2017) – The Franklin Pierce University men's golf team made their return to the NCAA Division II East/Atlantic Regional on Monday with the first round of golf at the Glade Springs Resort located in Daniels, W.Va.

The Regionals, hosted by the Mountain East Conference, took place on the Cobb, par 72, 7,114 yard Course on a cool and windy day. The wind direction was sporadic as it constantly changed directions especially on the back nine which affected the entire field of golfers.

"Today we didn't shoot ourselves out of it said team captain Tom Arisco (Cheshire, Conn.). "Going into tomorrow the conditions look like they'll be more difficult which will fit our team and allow us to get back into the hunt."

The Ravens teed off at 8:20 a.m. this morning as Arisco stepped into the box to begin the tournament. The squad finished their first round at around 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon at 310 (+22) which put the Crimson and Grey into a tie for 11th place out of 20 teams. Mercyhurst University (298, +10), Dominican College (300, +12), Saint Thomas Aquinas (301, +13) and California (Pa.) (302, +14) round out the top four teams.

Freshman golfer Sam Myers (Colchester, Vt.) led the charge for FPU as he completed his scorecard at 73 (+1) which was a tie for the sixth best score overall. He ranked in a tie for third with 13 total pars with seven other golfers. As a team, the Ravens were knotted up with Northeast-10 Conference foe the College of Saint Rose for fifth at 52 total pars.

From the second position fellow freshman Keeton Foster (Chesterfield, N.H.) chalked up a 78 (+6) round. Junior Taylor Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) golfed a 79 (+7) while Arisco added an 80 (+8) and Liam Donohue (Vernon, Conn.) concluded the afternoon at 84 (+12).

Franklin Pierce will look to improve their spot in the standings tomorrow as they will have to brave the pouring rain. Arisco will tee-off at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow on the back nine.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce golf athletic apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).