ONEONTA, Ala. – Four Bulldogs shot under par to help Louisiana Tech end round one Sunday in fifth on the team leaderboard at the GMAC Invitational, an event hosted by UAB at the Limestone Springs Golf Club.
 
It was a rocky start as LA Tech opened up with four bogeys and a double bogey on the starting hole No. 10.  Things calmed down after that though, especially for Jake Plumb who followed up his bogey with four straight birdies to get the 'Dogs headed in the right direction.
 
Both Plumb and Niilo Maki-Petaja would shoot 35s on the back, but it was the front nine where LA Tech made the most noise and started climbing the leaderboard. 
 
Plumb would shoot another 35 to finish the first round in the red with a 70 (-2).  Matching his scorecard was Morton Bailey who overcame a 38 on the back to fire five birdies on the front in route to a 70 (-2).
 
Then there was Maki-Petaja who went bogey free after his one hiccup on the opening hole.  The rest of his first round was made up of 13 pars and four birdies, including two on his final three holes, to register a 69 (-3). 
 
The fourth scorecard used by the Bulldogs was that of Freddie Surgey who rebounded from a bogey-bogey-bogey start to card a 73 (+1), giving LA Tech a 282 (-6) through 18 holes. 
 
Maki-Petaja is tied for 10th on the player leaderboard while Bailey and Plumb are tied for 17th.  Tied for 25th is Oskari Schuvalow who also finished in the red with a 71 (-1) as an individual.
 
North Alabama (275) is in front by four strokes ahead of Troy (279).  They are followed by ULM (280) and Lipscomb (280) who are two strokes ahead of LA Tech.
 
UP NEXT
LA Tech will be paired with Lipscomb and Jacksonville State for round two of the GMAC Invitational.  The first tee time for the Bulldogs is at 9:15 a.m. CT starting on hole one.
 
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