From University of Rochester Athletics

The University of Rochester golf team shot a combined team score of 303 (+15) on Day one of the NCAA Division III National Championships on Tuesday at the Grandover Resort.

The team score puts Rochester in a tie for 21st place with Illinois Wesleyan, Wittenberg and St. Johns (MN) after round one.  Schreiner has the first round lead after shooting a team score of 285 (-3), they lead by one stroke over Methodist (-2, 286).

Seniors Nick Palladino and Will Mallia led the Yellowjackets with first round scores of 73 (+1), tying them for 32nd place individually out of 210 total golfers.  Sophomore Dominick Schumacher carded a 78 (+6) and freshman Matt van Niekerk shot a 79 (+7) to round out Rochester's scoring on the Grandover East Course.  Sophomore G.W. VanderZwaag was the 5th UR golfer on the day.
 
Mallia got off to a fantastic start on his front nine (started on hole 10), shooting a 33 (-3) on his first nine holes.  At that point in the tournament, the senior was tied for the tournament lead.  He finished with five birdies and one bogey, one double bogey and one triple bogey on Tuesday, earning his second best round of the season.
 
Palladino trekked along, shooting one-over with two bogeys, one birdie and 15 pars on the day.  He recorded Rochester's lone par-5 birdie and that's where the Yellowjackets struggled.  UR was a combined +12 as a team on the longest four holes on the course.
 
Schumacher's round got off to a rough start with a bogey on the first hole, but he answered with a birdie on the par-3 12th.  After making the turn in +4, he came in with a solid 38 on the back nine for his final score of 78.  Van Niekerk went out in 4-over 40, then started his back nine with a birdie, allowing him to finish with a 39 in his final nine holes for a score of +7.
 
VanderZwaag couldn't find a groove for UR on the 7,210 yard layout, finishing with a score of 87.  The team score of 303 is right around Rochester's average of 304.8 on the year.