GREENVILLE, S.C. – Following day one action from the Furman Intercollegiate, the FGCU men's golf team sits third on the team leaderboard after junior Brady Madsen (Raymond, Minn./MacCray HS/Winona State) and sophomore Jon Hopkins (Bishop's Stortford, England/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) each finished the day among the top-10 individuals. Madsen stands tied for third after shooting 70, while Hopkins is tied for seventh after carding a 71 on Friday.
 
The Eagles, ranked No. 72 in this week's GolfStat.com rankings, shot a combined 290 to head into Saturday's second round in third place. Wofford is just three strokes ahead in second place, while host Furman leads the 17-team field. The Green and Blue will start tomorrow's action at Noon at the Furman University Golf Course (Par 71, 6984 yards).
 
"We'll look to learn from our round today and do a better job tomorrow," said head coach Andrew Danna. "Our team is looking forward to another opportunity in the second round."
 
Madsen recorded six birdies in the opening round and was par-or-better on eight of the final nine holes to finish the day one under (70). Three of his birdies came on the front nine in the first five holes as he was able to hit the turn at one-over. Birdies on No. 11 and No. 12 took him back under par and he was able to offset a bogey on No. 13 with a birdie on No. 15. He closed out the round with pars on the final three holes to stay one under on the day.
 
Hopkins was just one stroke behind with a 71, but had just two birdies on the day. He did, however, just post two bogeys for a total of 16 holes at par-or-better. After a birdie on No. 2, he carded a bogey on No. 4. Hopkins was able to stay even on six straight holes before a birdie on No. 11 dropped him to one under. He posted six more holes at par before a bogey on No. 18 put him even for the round.
 
Senior Van Holmgren (Plymouth, Minn./Waysata HS/North Dakota State) posted an eagle on hole No. 2 as he went into the turn even through the first nine. After staying even through four holes on the back side, he followed a double bogey on No. 14 with a birdie on No. 15. He finished the round with a 74 to stand tied for 29^th individually.
 
Junior Henry Tschopp (Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland/Western Texas College/Dodge City CC) tied for 47^th in his first round for the Eagles. Tschopp had three birdies in his first five holes to go three under, but a pair of double bogeys on No. 6 and No. 8 put him two over after the first nine. He finished the back side with a pair of bogeys to finish the day at 75.
 
Sophomore Frankie Capan III (North Oaks, Minn./Northwest Christian HS/Alabama) tied for 60^th after scoring 76 to open the tournament. After shooting par on the first six holes, he had four straight bogeys that put him four over coming off No. 10. He birdies No. 11 and finished at par on five of the final seven holes to finish the round five over.
 
Playing as an individual, freshman Thomas Salanito (Palm Harbor, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic) shot 73 to tie for 17^th overall. After a tough start going two over after the first four holes, Salanito shot par on the next eight straight. He bogied No. 13 but had a birdie on No. 15 followed by three more pars for a two-over day.
 
Madsen's six birdies on the day stood as the second most for the field and stood just two behind Coline Slater of George Mason. Slater and Furman's Keller Harper each shot 66 on Friday to tie for the individual lead. Madsen sits in a four-way tie for third, while Hopkins is tied with four others for seventh.
 
Following the weekend trip to South Carolina, the Eagles will host the Old Corkscrew Intercollegiate at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero on April 12-13.
 
FGCU Line-Up:
T3 - Brady Madsen - 70
T6 - Jon Hopkins - 71
T17 - Thomas Salanito (individual) - 73
T29 - Van Holmgren - 74
T47 - Henry Tschopp –75
T61 - Frankie Capan III - 76
 
51^st Furman Intercollegiate Field
1 - #71 Furman - 283
2 - #147 Wofford - 287
3 - #72 FGCU - 290
4 - #207 George Mason - 292
5 - #124 Charleston Southern - 293
6 - #136 Chattanooga - 294
7 - #118 Toledo - 295
8 - #138 Francis Marion - 297
T9 - #156 Western Carolina - 298
T9 - USC Aiken - 298
T9 - #198 Marshall - 298
T9 - #130 High Point - 298
T13 - #184 Samford - 303
T13 - #196 Presbyterian - 303
15 - #226 Towson - 305
16 - #132 Connecticut - 306
17 - Xavier - 315
 
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