HERSHEY, Pa. – A five-over 76 by junior Jesse Ottaway paced the Allegheny men's golf team in the opening round of the 2018 Hershey Cup.
 
Competing as an individual, Ottaway turned in a round of 10 pars and three birdies on the opening day at the Par 71 Hershey Country Club-East, and sits in a tie for ninth in the 80-player field. He was one of just eight players in the field to average even par on the course's three Par 3's, while his two birdies were tied for third most on the day.
 
Leading Allegheny's scoring five was freshman Jack O'Leary, who closed with a seven-over 78 to sit in a tie for 24th.  The rookie carded 11 pars on the blustery afternoon.
 
Reigning North Coast Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week Bobby Hapanowicz was one shot behind O'Leary, carding 79 to sit in a tie for 31st.  The veteran was especially effective on the front nine, opening his round with pars on seven of the day's first nine holes.  In all, his 12 pars were third-most in the field.
 
Freshman Louie Olsakovsky and sophomore Jackson Sandusky each closed day one in a tie for 40th with rounds of 80.  Both players totaled 10 pars on the afternoon, while Sandusky's day was highlighted by back-to-back birdies on the Par 5 sixth hole and the Par 4 seventh.
 
Closing out the Allegheny scoring five was freshman Matthew Del Rosso with a round of 82.  He recovered from a tough front nine by parring eight of the final nine holes to close with a 36 on the back.  
 
As a team, the Gators closed the opening day in 10th place in the 15-team field with a combined team total of 317.  On a tight team leaderboard, the Gators are just three strokes out of seventh place, and six shots outside of the top five. 
 
Led by day one leader Ryan Muthoria (71), Kenyon College shot a combined 299 to sit in first place, seven shots ahead of second place, which is shared Rensselaer Polytechnic and Washington & Lee. New York University totaled 310 to sit in fourth, with Franklin & Marshall and Swarthmore each totaling 311 to sit in a tie for fifth. 
 
The Gators, who captured the Hershey Cup team title a season ago, will look to make a move in the standings on the second and final round, which gets underway on Monday morning, weather permitting.