May 4, 2009

Sophomore Thomas Ayala (East Taunton, MA) fired a two-over 74 to place fourth as UMass Lowell currently sits in a tie for 10th after the first round at the NCAA Division II Golf Championship East/Atlantic Regional at The Resort at Glade Springs.

UMass Lowell scored a 318 – sharing 10th place with American International College – but is currently just two strokes out of the top five teams which move on to the NCAA Championship in Blaine, WA.

Fayetteville State leads the 20-team regional with a score of 304 while West Liberty State is second with a 309 and Adelphi third with a 312. Fairmont State is currently fourth with a 314 while the University of Charleston (316) sits fifth.

Concord (317), Indiana of Pennsylvania (317), Le Moyne (317) and Southern New Hampshire (317) placed in a tie for sixth while UMass Lowell and AIC rounded out the top 10.

Ayala’s form matched his lowest score from the fall and spring seasons. He birdied three holes, including the par-five, 526-yard fifth hole as well as holes 14 and 15, both par-fours and 385 yards.

Senior Anthony Gallardo (Methuen, MA) also enjoyed a stellar round as he finished in a tie for ninth with a four-over 76. Gallardo birdied three of his last four holes to crash the top 10, including the 15th and the par-three 17th (200 yards) and par-five 18th (549 yards).

Junior Patrick Bean (Fitchburg, MA) carded an 83 to finish in a tie for 74th while sophomore Andrew Albrecht (Georgetown, ONT) carded an 85 (T-85th) while junior Brendan Livingston (Westford, MA) scored an 88 (T-99th).

The second round begins at 8:20 Tuesday morning.