B-CU Leads Way at MEAC Men's Golf Championships

SAVANNAH, Georgia  --  Bethune-Cookman University golfers Leon Fricker and Ryan Fricker fired 3-under-par rounds on Friday, helping the Wildcats to a first place lead after the opening round of the inaugural Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships. The three-day, 54-hole event takes place at Crosswinds Golf Club in Savannah, Ga.

As a team, Bethune-Cookman leads the tournament after the opening round with a 286. North Carolina Central sits second (299), followed by host school host Savannah State (300).

Leon Fricker, a sophomore from Ivybridge, England, posted a 3-under-par 69 in his opening round, using an eagle-3 on the 18th hole to finish tied atop the individual leaderboard. Leon also posted an eagle-3 on the 10th hole, while scoring birdies on holes four, seven and nine, respectively. Mishaps with bogeys on 12 and 13 cost him a shot at the outright lead heading into the second day of play.

Sitting alongside Leon atop the tournament leaderboard is older brother and classmate Ryan Fricker with a 3-under-par 69. Ryan, a 2013 NCAA Tournament participant, carded an impressive stretch on his final four holes though the front nine, scoring birdies on six, seven and nine. A double-bogey on eight and a bogey on three forced him to sit 1-under-par after the front stretch. Two birdies (10, 18) and seven pars carried him through the back nine.

Seniors Rafael Abad (Valencia, Venezuela) and Matthew McKnight (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) each sit tied for sixth in the tournament field, firing a round of 2-over-par 74 apiece. McKnight carded three birdies in his opening nine holes, picking them up on two, six and nine, respectively. Abad scored two birdies each on his front and back nine stretches.

The final golfer for the Wildcats was senior Emmanuel Petrich (Grand Blanc, Mich.) who finished in 18th with a 5-over-par round of 77. Three tough bogeys on the back nine, mixed with a birdie on 18, carried him to a 2-over-par in his final nine holes.

NCCU’s J.T. Thomas shares the tournament lead with Leon Fricker and Ryan Fricker, followed by Florida A&M’s Kevin Parker (-1, 71) in fourth, and Savannah State’s Brandon Neals (+1, 73) in fifth.

Play resumes Saturday with teams teeing off at 8 a.m. Live scoring for the event can be accessed here, or by visiting GolfStat.com.

The Crosswinds Golf Club is a unique par-72 course with narrow fairways and features five par 5s and five par 3s, along with TiFeagle greens and Bermuda fairways.

The tournament champion and medalist receive an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. The NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Selection Show will air Monday, May 5, at 10 a.m. on the Golf Channel.

For news and results on the B-CU men’s golf team, log on to BCUathletics.com and follow the team (@BCUgolf) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with the hashtag, #bcugolf. Make sure to “Like Us” on Facebook at BCUathletics.

MEAC MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND SCORES

COURTESY BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION