JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga.—Sophomore Aman Vantipalli (Alpharetta, Ga.) fired a career-best 66 and three players finished at even-par or better to help Babson College shoot its lowest score of the season in the opening round of the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational on Friday afternoon. 

The Beavers posted a score of 6-under 282 and sit in seventh place following an opening round that saw 12 of 30 teams finish under par. No. 6 Sewanee and No. 1 Huntingdon, which had four players finish in red numbers, are tied for first place at 17-under 271, which is nine shots better than No. 3 Carnegie Mellon (280). No. 9 Illinois Wesleyan is in fourth place at 8-under, while No. 4 Washington & Lee and No. 12 Southwestern are tied for fifth at 7-under 281. 

Vantipalli made eight birdies and just two bogeys on the way to carding a 6-under 66 that has him tied for third place just three shots off the lead. Starting on the 10th hole, he birdied Nos. 15, 16 and 18 to get to 3-under, and then shook off a bogey at the par 3 third hole with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 5-8 to record the team's best score of the season. 

Senior Colin Fowler (Portland, Ore.) eagled both of the par 5s on the back nine and turned in 3-under before making a birdie at the par 5 seventh hole to finish the day in a tie for 25th position after posting a 2-under 70. Classmate Shane Quinn (Morristown, N.J.) made three birdies and three bogeys on the way to carding an even-par 72, which has him tied for 47th place, while junior Jack Berry (Western Springs, Ill.) made two birdies and is tied for 68th place after shooting a 2-over 74. 

Sophomore Chad Tordone (Barnstable, Mass.) is tied for 129th position at 7-over after carding an opening round 79 on Friday. 

In addition to competing in the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational, Babson has six players taking part in the Indian Mound Invitational. Sophomore Howie Poon (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) birdied four of his first eight holes before settling into a tie for fifth place at 2-over 74, while senior Tomas Amaya (Singer Island, Fla.) made a late birdie to grab a share of ninth at 3-over 75. 

Graduate student Trevor Connolly (South Weymouth, Mass.) and first-year Luke Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) both shot 76 and are part of a three-way tie for 14th position at 4-over, while rookie Mason Malouf (Boston, Mass.) played his final 12 holes in even par on the way to shooting a 5-over 77. 

Babson begins second round play on the Pine Lakes Course at 8:04 a.m. 

TOURNAMENT NOTES
•    Babson's score of 282 is its lowest since October 17, 2024,  when it posted a 3-under 281 in the final round of the Golfweek Fall Preview at Raven GC in Miramar Beach, Fla.
•    Vantipalli's 66 is the Beavers lowest score in relation to par since Evan Eichenlaub fired a 6-under 65 in the second round of the West Pines Collegiate on October 7, 2024. 
•    Vantipalli, who led the field with eight birdies on Friday, also shot a 66 in the second round of the Williams Invitational back in September, while Fowler tied for first in par 5 scoring at 5-under.