Seiverville, TN-The Cleveland State men's golf team got off to a strong start in the opening 18 holes of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate hosted by Tennessee Tech University. The Vikings fired an 11-over par 295 at Seiverville Golf Club's River Course to sit in fourth place in the team standings. Cleveland State is 13 shots back of Belmont who leads the 15-team field at 2-under par after the first round. 

Brody Simms paced the Vikings on day one, carding an even par 71 to finish in the top-10 individually through the first 18 holes. Simms is tied for seventh along with five other players who shot 71 on Sunday. Belmont's Michael Senn leads the way after posting a 3-under 68.

Simms was steady throughout the day. He started with a bogey on the opening hole before rebounding with a birdie on the second hole. He then parred six of his next seven holes with a bogey sandwiched in between to post a 1-over 36 on the front nine. He started the back nine with a birdie on the tenth hole and reeled of five more pars before a birdie at the 16^th put him in red figures. A bogey at the last gave him a 1-under 35 on the back nine to post even par for the day. Simms finished at even par on the par-4's for the day which tied for the second-best total of any player in the field.

Mason Frazier had a strong opening round as well finishing with a 2-over 73 to sit tied for 14th. Frazier closed with three birdies in his final five holes as part of an even par 36 on the back nine.

Alex Anderson is tied for 27^th after an opening round 4-over 75. Anderson is making his return to the lineup after missing the fall and early spring season due to an injury. He carded two birdies in posting 38 on the front and 37 on the back.

Dillon Pendergast is tied for 35^th after a 5-over 76 and Andrew Kaye is tied for 47^th after a 6-over 77. Individually, Dominik Cosic is also tied for 47^th after posting a 77 and Ben Scheeff is tied for 80^th after an opening round 10-over 81.

Pendergast played the par-4's in 1-under which is tied for the best mark of any player in the field. As a team the Vikings were tied for first with a 10-over par total on the par-4's. Cleveland State also tied for the second-most birdies in the field on day one with 13.

The second round begins on Monday with tee times off of split tees with the Vikings teeing off on the first hole starting at 9:20 a.m. The teams will play 18 holes tomorrow and the final 18 will be played on Tuesday.