MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—Junior Jack Berry (Western Springs, Ill.) birdied five of his final eight holes to grab a two-stroke lead as the 22nd-ranked Babson College men's golf team sits atop the leaderboard after round one of the Duke Nelson Invitational at Ralph Myhre Golf Club. 

The Beavers posted a score of 12-over 296 to finish on shot ahead of second-place Amherst (297). Trinity (303) is seven strokes off the pace in third, Hartford (304) is fourth and Bowdoin (305) and St. Lawrence (305) are tied for fifth position. 

Sophomore Howie Poon (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is tied for ninth place after firing a 3-over 74, while senior Colin Fowler (Portland, Ore.) grabbed a share of 21st position at 5-over after opening with a round of 76. Sophomore Aman Vantipalli (Alpharetta, Ga.) carded a 7-over 78 and classmate Chad Tordone (Barnstable, Mass.) is 9-over after recording an 80 in his collegiate debut. 

Berry, who started on the sixth hole, opened with six consecutive pars before making bogeys on Nos. 13 and 15. He bounced back with consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to get back to even and followed up a par on the 18th with three straight birdies to get to 3-under, which is two shots clear of Jan Ebbinge of Amherst. 

Poon played his final nine holes in 1-under to post the low round of his career, while Fowler was just 1-over par in his final 11 holes. 

Babson begins final round play at the Duke Nelson Invitational on Sunday at 9 a.m. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers have claimed two Duke Nelson Invitational titles over the last four seasons (2021, 2023) and led after the opening round in both victories. 
•    Going back to 2017, Babson boasts a 293.43 team scoring average at Ralph Myhre Golf Club. 
•    Berry led all players with five birdies and tied for first in par 4 scoring at 1-under and third in par 5 scoring at 2-under. 
•    The average score in Saturday's first round was 79.18.