Reddies in 7th after opening round of Battle for the Belt

Host Henderson State opened with a 4-over-par 292 on Sunday to settle into seventh place after one round of The Battle for the Belt at the Hot Springs Country Club.

The tournament includes 17 teams from five states representing the Great American Conference, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Gulf South Conference and Great Lakes Valley Conference in NCAA Division II, as well as the University of Texas at Tyler from the American Southwest Conference in Division III. The tournament also serves as the Central/Midwest Region

Preview as Henderson will host the 2019 NCAA Division II Central/Midwest Regional Championship in May on the Hot Springs Country Club’s Arlington Course.

Nick Shapiro led the way for the Reddies in the opening round with a 2-under 70 to put himself in a tie for fifth place overall after 18 holes. Shapiro had 14 pars on the day and was 1-under on par-3 scoring.A

Mitchell Ford and Cameron McRae both shot 1-over 73 on Sunday, good for 28th place individually. McRae had four birdies in his round, while Ford parred 15 holes.

Trey DePriest was the final scorer for Henderson with a score of 4-over 76, while Kasoma Paulino rounded out the top five with a first round score of 6-over 78.

Individually, Stuart Krog and Kevin Boutier both shot 1-under 71 to settle into a tie for 13th place overall, Christian Woods carded a 2-over 74 to finish tied for 38th after one round, and Francisco Maciel turned in a 4-over 76 to tie for 59th.

Maryville leads the field after turning in a team score of 9-under 279 on the opening 18 holes. Despite sitting in seventh, the Reddies are just five shots back of second place in the team standings.

The second round of the three-day event begins today at 8 a.m.