COLUMBUS, Ind. – First-year Max Shulman debuted at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship with an eagle and finished at even par, while senior Krish Nayak backed that up with a 2-over-par 74 at the par-72, 6,897-yard Otter Creek Golf Course on Friday. The College of Wooster shot a 300 – its lowest round of the spring – and is in sixth-place with 36 holes remaining.
Shulman, who is tied for 10th, eagled the par-5, 528-yard opening hole and dropped back to 1-under-par with a birdie on the par-5, 584-yard fifth hole. He went on to turn at even par, with a par or better on seven of the front nine holes at Otter Creek. Shulman's consistency continued after the turn, as he played the first seven holes on the back nine at par or better. Shulman was back to 1-under-par with a birdie on the par-4, 321-yard 11th hole and logged a par on the par-5, 549-yard closing hole for the 72. Of note, he played the par-5 holes at 3-under-par and the par-3 holes at even par.
Nayak, tied for 17th, birdied the opening hole and was one of four Scots to birdie No. 5. He turned at 1-over-par, then logged a par on eight of the nine holes on Otter Creek's back nine. Nayak went 2-under-par on the par-5 holes, 1-over-par on the par-3 holes, and 3-over-par on the par-4 holes.
Sophomore Andrew Carey's 76 is tied for 25th. The middle portion of the round was where Carey was at his best, as he played holes five through 15 at even par. Carey bounced back to even par on the back nine with a birdie on the par-5, 512 yard 14th hole and he played both the par-3 and par-5 holes at even par for the day.
First-year Nunth Khamkhokgruad debuted at conference with a 78, which is tied for 32nd. Khamkhokgruad turned at 2-over-par, aided by dropping in consecutive birdies on the par-4, 405-yard fourth hole and No. 5. Khamkhokgruad played 12 holes at par or better and capped the round with pars on six of the final seven holes.
Sophomore Jake Cammarata, also making his conference debut, is tied for 36th-place following an opening-round 84. Cammarata played holes four through nine at 2-under-par, with birdies coming on No. 5 and the par-4, 404-yard seventh hole.
Kenyon College and Wittenberg University are tied at the top of the standings after 4-under-par 284s. Wooster is within striking distance of fifth-place DePauw University (297) and fourth-place Denison University (293). Wabash College's Sean Bledsoe and Denison's Jack Yurosek are the clubhouse leaders following 3-under-par 69s.
Round two is slated for an 8 a.m. start on Saturday off No. 10. Wooster is in the second wave, which starts at 8:45 a.m.
