COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – Led by junior Tyler Gray's round of 68, 4-under par, the Coastal Carolina men's golf team shot a team score of 284, 4-under par, to end day one at the Intercollegiate at the Grove tied for first-place on the team leaderboard with host Middle Tennessee. Gray is also tied for first with two other golfers on the individual leaderboard.
 
Tied with Middle Tennessee in first-place at 284, 4-under par, Coastal is two strokes in front of ULM (286, -2), three in front of Mercer (287, -1), and four shots ahead of both Southern Mississippi and Appalachian State (288, even) who round out the top five on the team leaderboard.
 
"Tyler played a really nice round of golf today. That's a good score at this place. Also had solid rounds from Zack and Seth," stated head coach Jim Garren. "Not the finish we wanted. We got to get better at closing out rounds. However, we are in contention heading into the final round which is the goal every week. The guys showed great effort again today."
 
Gray continued his strong play this fall with an opening-round 68, which included six birdies over the first 12 holes. He finished the day in a tie for first-place overall with a 32, 4-under on the front nine, and a 36, even par, on the back half.
 
Both Zack Taylor and Seth Taylor carded rounds of 71, 1-under par, to place in a log jam at 10th-place overall heading into the final round of play tomorrow. Zack bounced back from a 37, +1, on the front nine to post four birdies and a 34, 2-under par, on the back nine, while Seth was consistent all day with three birdies, two bogeys, and 13 pars, eight of which came on the back nine.
 
Connor Newton followed with a first-round 74, +2, good enough for 30th-place overall after 18 holes of play, while fellow junior Brady Hinkle turned in a round of 78, +4, on Monday, placing him in a tie for 54th on the leaderboard.
 
Rounding out the lineup for the Chants was sophomore Gavin Noble who shot a 78, +6. He is in a tie for 68th overall heading into the final round on Tuesday.
 
The Chants as a team will tee-off beginning at 11:40 a.m. ET/10:40 a.m. CT tomorrow.
 
Live scoring can once again be found here.
 
For complete coverage of CCU men's golf, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMGolf (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.