SANDESTIN, Fla. -- One of only four teams in the talented field at the Golfweek Division III Invite to boast all five golfers with finishes of 75 or better, the top-rated Christopher Newport men's golf team is tied for fifth after the opening round. Alex Price (-2) and Jack Gessaman (-1) led the way as both are locked in the top ten on the individual leaderboard as well. 

Following a dominant win at the NCAA Division III Championship Preview, the No. 1 CNU men's golf team backed up that performance with a well-rounded showing on day one of the 54-hole Golfweek DIII Invite on Sunday. Behind Price and Gessaman, rookie Austin Smith and junior Aidan Baron fired three-over 74's, and senior Robb Kinder added a four-over 75.

As a team, the Captains signed for a 287 (+3) on the 6,651-yard track at the Raven Golf Club in Sandestin, Fla. CNU is tied with No. 18 Texas-Dallas and No. 8 Piedmont after the first 18 holes while the trio trails No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan for the lead at one-under by just four strokes. Huntingdon (E), Carnegie Mellon (+1) and Emory (+1) are the other teams at the top of the leaderboard on day one. 

The overall dominant performance was highlighted by a ridiculous finish by Alex Price (-2), picking up birdie on four of his last six holes. Price patiently worked through the front nine with just one bogey and eight pars before making the turn and dropping another stroke on 11. From there, the veteran caught fire, sinking three more par putts to go with four birdies, vaulting Price up the leaderboard into a tie for fifth at two-under par. 

A four-way tie for fifth is closely followed by a group with Gessaman included, tied for ninth, at one-under par. The CNU sophomore was two-over heading away from the clubhouse, but on the way back, matched Price with a three-under score on the final nine holes with six pars and three birdies. He dropped back-to-back birds on 14 and 15 after also securing an under-par hole on the 370-yard Par 4 10th hole. 

Baron went back-to-back with birdies on nine and ten before finishing on a run of eight straight pars. Smith flipped that script with a birdie on the 565-yard Par 5 third hole and nine pars through the first ten holes. He added six more pars to finish at three-over with a 74. 

Kinder had just one forgettable hole on Sunday, taking a 10 on the 409-yard par 4 ninth hole, but was otherwise near flawless. The senior opened one-under on the front until the setback on nine, sinking a birdie four on the lengthy 604-yard Par 5 seventh hole. He was one of only 16 players in the 120-player field to birdie or better the mammoth seventh. Kinder recovered well, adding two more birdies and six pars on the back nine, to keep himself well within striking distance of the top of the leaderboard with a four-over 75. 

The Captains will return to action in round two on Monday, taking the course at 8:20 a.m. Live scoring is available -- click here -- or find the link on the men's golf schedule at CNUsports.com.