NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. -- Earlier this week, the Christopher Newport men's golf program moved up in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches Poll, hauling in the No. 5 spot in the national rankings. In the team's first action since the new designation, the Captains started off strong at the NCAA DIII Championship Preview with a sub-300 finish in the opening round on Sunday. The Captains (+11) are currently locked in a three-way tie for fifth and are positioned just eight strokes off the pace after the first 18 holes. 

Leading the way for the Captains were a pair of one-under 71 finishes, including the first career round under par by rookie Austin Smith. He matched CNU senior Alex Price on day one and both Captains are tied for third just one stroke back of a pair tied for first. 

Christopher Newport fired a 299 at the Keene Run GC on Sunday and will play at the Champions Trace GC in Monday's second and Tuesday's third and final round. Illinois Wesleyan currently leads the field with a 291 (+3) while a two-way tie for the individual lead sits at 70 (-2) between Jackson Hulsey (Illinois Wesleyan) and Michael Burry (Emory). CNU is tied with Emory and Methodist for fifth on the team leaderboard while Illinois Wesleyan is trailed in order by Piedmont, Washington and Lee, and Wittenberg. 

Jackson Gessaman (+6) and Robb Kinder (+7) rounded out the scores for CNU on day one, while Owen Cook's 88 served as the drop score. 

The Captains were led by Price, who sank a sensational six birdies in the opening round and tied for the tournament lead in under-par holes. He added seven pars and worked his way through the course for his 25th career round of par or better. Smith bogeyed his first two holes before running off an exceptional run of 14 straight holes at par or better. That spurt included three straight birdies to close out the front nine. 

CNU will look to carry it's momentum into Monday's second round. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com with the link also found on the golf schedule at CNUsports.com