HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla.—Sophomore
Aman Vantipalli (Alpharetta, Ga.) fired a 1-under par 70 as 20th-ranked Babson College currently sits in a tie for 32nd place after round one of the NCAA Division III Championship was suspended with 19 team still on the course at the Mission Inn and Resort on Tuesday afternoon.
The Beavers finished the day at 13-over with a score of 297 on the 6,820-yard par 71 Las Colinas Course. No. 8 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is the leader in the clubhouse finishing at 4-under on the 6,778-yard par 72 El Campeon Course, while No. 2 Carnegie Mellon (3-under) and No. 13 Kenyon (2-under) joined them as the only three teams under par. First round play will resume at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Vantipalli, who is currently tied for 15th place made five birdies and four bogeys in his NCAA Championship debut. He followed up a bogey on the par 4 12th hole with a birdie on No. 13 and consecutive birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 and Nos. 4 and five around a bogey on the par 4 third hole to get to 3-under for the round before carding a pair of late bogeys.
Senior
Shane Quinn (Morristown, N.J.) made two birdies and four bogeys on the way to shooting a 2-over 73, while classmate
Colin Fowler (Portland, Ore.) birdied his opening hole of the day on the way to posting a 4-over 75. Junior
Jack Berry (Western Springs, Ill.) shot a 79 and sits at 8-over after one and sophomore
Chad Tordone (Barnstable, Mass.) made two birdies as part of a first round 82 that has him at 11-over.
Babson will begin second round play on the El Campeon course at 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday. The championship will be cut to the low 18 teams following round two.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
• The Beavers posted their lowest round in four trips around the Las Colinas course on Tuesday and their best score in nine total rounds at Mission Inn and Resort, betting the 298 they shot in the final round of the 2022 NCAA Championship.
• Vantipalli, who is four shots off the lead, was one of 27 players to break par in Tuesday's first round and his first round 70 is the best score by any Babson player in nine rounds at Mission Inn and Resort.
• The average score among 60 players that finished their round on the Las Colinas course on Tuesday was 74.23.
