BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Powered by a strong overall team performance, the Christopher Newport men's golf team opened up the 2024-25 season with a first-place first day at the Kinder-Williams Invitational. The Captains got a career-best performance from sophomore
Nick Alexander (-3) as the second-year star sits in second place on the individual leaderboard after firing a 69 on day one.
As a team, CNU is one-over par with a 289 to edge Roanoke by one stroke through the first 18 holes. The 36-hole tournament will continue on Tuesday.
Alexander put together a phenomenal round that included seven birdies and eight pars. He went back-to-back twice, including a pair of fours on the 490-yard par five 2nd and 561-yard par five 3rd holes. He also sank two birdies in a row on the 178-yard par three 13th and 480-yard par four 14th.
The sophomore made the turn at one-under with 36 strokes and then finished the back nine in 33 strokes with a two-under stretch that was only marred by one hole. His 69 (-3) trails only Dax Anderson (Southern Virginia) on the individual leaderboard. Alexander is tied with Nick Johnson (Southern Virginia) and is one of only six players under par heading into day two.
While Alexander paced the team, CNU got stellar contributions across the board.
Brian O'Dea (E) is tied for seventh with a 72 while
Stephen Patterson (+2) and
Jacob Foti (+2) are each tied for 19th with matching 74's. O'Dea matched his personal low while Patterson notched the second best round of his career. Foti made his collegiate debut with a two-over and sits just seven strokes off the pace.
O'Dea notched 10 pars in a row and was one-under through 13. He birdied the 503-yard par five 11th and 370-yard par four 15th. Patterson added four birdies in his round and Foti recorded three in his first career round.
Rounding out the overall team performance was
Owen Taylor (+3), who is tied for 29th with a three-over 75. He also had three birdies on day one with and added ten pars.
Christopher Newport will return to action on Tuesday and will play with Roanoke and Southern Virginia.
