EDINBURGH, Ind. ­— At the conclusion of the first round of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship, Knox College found itself in fifth place by shooting 14-over (302) as a team. First-year Thomas Lyaudet leads the Prairie Fire with a 1-under 71, which left him tied for fourth place on the leaderboard, five strokes off the pace set Matt Wilkinson of Mississippi University for Women (MUW).

Lyaudet got off to a rough start on the 6,841-yard, par-72 at Timbergate Golf Course, taking a bogey on the 396-yard par-4 first hole. But the rookie settled in quickly and only had one more bogey on the day (17th) while making par on 13 holes and sinking birdies on three others.

Finishing just outside the top 10 was junior Gabe Newman at 2-over par (74), his third-best round of the year. His two birdies came on the par-3 eighth and par-4 15th holes, and he parred a dozen other holes while bogeying four.

Junior Pranav Nandakumar had an uncharacteristically tough day, shooting a 78 (+6), his second-highest score of the year, though after struggling on the front nine at 5-over, he birdied a pair of holes on the back nine and seemed to find his stroke.

The other score contributing to the team total belonged to sophomore Nathaniel Zug with a 7-over 79. Like Newman, he made par on 12 holes, plus added a birdie to his day. First-year Diego Carrillo finished up at 12-over on the day.

The team leader after the first round is MUW, ranked 36th nationally, which owns a 14-stroke advantage over Lake Forest College at 9-under par. The Prairie Fire are just four strokes behind third-place Illinois College (+10) and three behind Lyon (+11).

The second round will tee off on Monday at 10 a.m. (EDT).