GREENVILLE, N.C. – With incoming inclement weather in the middle of the week in Greenville, North Carolina, the Ironwood Collegiate Classic opened play early, with the first round on Sunday afternoon.
 
David Lafreniere sure was ready. The junior ripped off a six-under 66 to lead the Lancers, and he leads the field after 18 holes at the Ironwood Golf & Country Club.
 
NOTABLE RESULTS:
 
Lafreniere's strong opening round helped Longwood tie for second as a team with 36 holes to play. The Lancers posted a five-under 283 to finish the day tied for second with Georgia State. The two teams are seven shots back of the hosts, East Carolina, who sit 12 under.
 
Longwood holds a one shot lead over UCF in fourth and a two shot lead over Jacksonville State in fifth.
 
The 66 for Lafreniere is one shot back of his career best for raw score and matches his best effort relative to par, a 65 on the Par 71 course at the Joe Feaganes Invitational earlier this fall.
 
The junior carded seven birdies on the day, including four in his final eight holes. He holds a one shot lead over Josh Davies, who is playing as an individual, from East Carolina.
 
Both Cameron Hardison and Josh Cummins are tied for 26^th after an even-par 72 for the opening round. Hardison carded three birdies on the day and played his final nine holes at even par.
 
Cummins, meanwhile, shook off a slow start to play his final 11 holes at two-under.
 
Hunter Swidzinski is tied for 38^th following an up-and-down round that saw him shoot a one-over 73. He too shook off a slow start to play the back half at even par.
 
Gabriel Mainella and Kai Krishnan both tied for 70^th with a six-over 78. Mainella had a pair of birdies, and Krishnan, who is competing as an individual, also had two birdies.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"Today was a long, long day," said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. "With the schedule change, we had to leave campus extra early to get here to ride and look at the course without hitting a shot, then get ready to play a competitive round which finished in the dark. With all that we had going on, I have to really give our guys a ton of credit for hanging in there and making doing their job a priority."

"David was terrific, no doubt about it," Fillman added. "What else can be said. He made seven birdies the first time every playing a golf course, so he, obviously, put the ball in a lot of good spots. We're looking forward to getting some sleep and getting back out there tomorrow to see if we can put any pressure on ECU."
 
FULL RESULTS:
 
1. East Carolina: 276 (-12)
T2. Longwood: 283 (-5)
T2. Georgia State: 283 (-5)
4. UCF: 284 (-4)
5. Jacksonville State: 285 (-3)
6. Appalachian State: 286 (-2)
7. Queens: 287 (-1)
8. Temple: 289 (+1)
T9. Gardner-Webb: 292 (+4)
T9. West Georgia: 292 (+4)
11. Long Island: 296 (+8)
12. Maryland Eastern Shore: 297 (+9)
13. Presbyterian: 301 (+13)
14. Old Dominion: 304 (+16)
15. Barton: 307 (+19)
 
Individual (Longwood)
1. David Lafreniere: 66 (-6)
T26. Cameron Hardison: 72 (E)
T26. Josh Cummins: 72 (E)
T38. Hunter Swidzinski: 73 (+1)
T70. Gabriel Mainella: 78 (+6)
*T70. Kai Krishnan: 78 (+6)
*Competed as an individual
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Lancers will play the final 36 holes on Monday. Live stats are available on Scoreboard. The team will tee off at 8:45 a.m.
 
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