HICKORY, N.C. – With South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year Alejandro de Castro firing a 5-under 67 and junior Calahan Keever carding a 3-under 69, the Anderson University men's golf team is in first place following opening-round action, Sunday at the South Atlantic Conference Championship, which is being hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne on a par-72, 6,605-yard Lake Hickory Country Club layout.
"We are happy to be leading after the first round," said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "Dro played exceptionally well and finds himself leading the field. Cal and Reece were steady as usual and played very well. Simon scored a solid 74 to round out our team score. Our goal is to follow this round up with two more good days. Still work to be done. Hopefully, we are up to the task."
Anderson, the nation's top-ranked team, leads Lenoir-Rhyne by six strokes heading into Tuesday's second round, while Tusculum is two shots further back in third place. Coker and Limestone are fourth and fifth, respectively, with Carson-Newman in the sixth slot.
Lincoln Memorial is seventh, with Newberry and Wingate sharing eighth place. Catawba, Mars Hill and UVA Wise rounded out the 12-team field.
De Castro, a freshman from St. Esteve Sesrovires, Spain, is two shots in front of Keever, Lenoir-Rhyne's Liam Waldron, Limestone's Kristoffer Larsson and Tusculum's Riley Brown, with AU senior Reece Coleman three strokes off the pace and alone in sixth place. Four additional golfers trail de Castro by four shots.
AU sophomore Simon Wright shares 18th place, with junior Daniel Coker rounding out the Trojan contingent in 59th place.
Monday's second round is slated to get underway at 8:30 a.m., with the Trojans teeing off at 10:45.
Notables
• The Trojans' first-round 280 marked a program-best for a conference tournament and matched the eighth-lowest round in program history.
• Alejandro de Castro's first-round 67 matched AU's second-best round in a conference tournament and matched the 11th-lowest round in program history.
• Calahan Keever's opening-round 69 matched AU's fifth-lowest round in a conference tournament.
• Reece Coleman's first-round 70 matched AU's seventh-best round in a conference tournament.
• AU's highest finish since joining the SAC has been a fourth-place showing in 2012.
• Calahan Keever owns the school record for a SAC Tournament appearance with a 54-hole 209 last season.
• Former standout Jake Miller owns the second-best (AU) score for a SAC Tournament appearance with a 54-hole 212 in 2018.
• The event has produced six different champions over the past 11 seasons, with Queens winning the title for the second time in three years in 2022.
• No. 13 Lincoln Memorial is looking to claim its fifth overall championship and second in three seasons,
• Carson-Newman is also seeking its fifth SAC Championship and first since winning back-to-back conference crowns in 2017 and 2018.
• Newberry and Catawba have each taken home the hardware on three occasions, with the Wolves seeking their first title since 2011 and the Indians last winning the title in 1999.
• Presbyterian claimed the tourney championship a record seven times before moving to NCAA D-I status, while Elon won the event five times (1990-1994).
1 Anderson 280 -8
1 Alejandro de Castro 67 -5
T 2 Calahan Keever 69 -3
6 Reece Coleman 70 -2
T18 Simon Wright 74 +2
59 Daniel Coker 87 +15
Teams Scores
1 Anderson 280 -8
2 Lenoir-Rhyne 286 -2
3 Tusculum 288 E
4 Coker 293 +5
5 Limestone 294 +6
6 Carson-Newman 296 +8
7 LMU 297 +9
8 Newberry 301 +13
Wingate 301 +13
10 Catawba 304 +16
11 Mars Hill 328 +40
UVA Wise 328 +40
