Hokies 15th after first round at Blackthorn Club

Mark Lawrence Jr., tied for 28th individually

October 13, 2017

The Virginia Tech men’s golf team posted a 13-over 301 and is in 15^th place at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at Blackthorn Club on Friday. The three-day event is being played at the par 72, 7,147-yard Blackthorn Club in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Mark Lawrence Jr., a junior from Richmond, Virginia, shot an opening round even-par 72 and is tied for 28^th place individually. Lawrence is six strokes behind leader JD Hughes of Penn State.

Connor Burgess, a freshman from Lynchburg, Virginia, shot 73 and is tied for 38^th place. Blake Fiest, a junior from Huntersville, North Carolina and Slade Pickering, a freshman from North West, South Africa, shot 78 and are tied for 69^th. Sarit Suwannarut, a sophomore from Bangkok, Thailand shot 82 and is in 84^th place. Ian Hildebrand, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia, is playing the event as an individual and is tied for 38th place at 73.

Penn State leads following the first round, shooting an 11-under 277, three strokes ahead of Tennessee, four strokes ahead of UNC Wilmington and five strokes ahead of Louisville and Coastal Carolina. Kent State, Missouri, Virginia, Furman and Kansas State round out the top 10. East Carolina is 11^th at 295, host ETSU is 12^th at 297, Villanova is 13^th at 298, VCU is 14^th at 300, one stroke ahead of the Hokies.

The second round will be played on Saturday, with the final round being played Sunday. Live stats are available on the men’s golf schedule page of Hokiesports.com, via a link from Golfstat.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MGolf