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Ethan Ashbrook lines up a shot during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Ethan Ashbrook hits from the bunker during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

A longhorn statue during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Ethan Ashbrook tees off at 15th during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Ethan Farnam tees off on 17th during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Blake Hathcoat at the tee blocks during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

A Gael alum shows her support outside her house during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Michael Slesinski drives on a par 3 during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Michael Slesinski putting during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Head coach Scott Hardy assesses the course during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Ryan Grauman on 12th during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Ethan Farnam eyes the pin during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Blake Hathcoat hits from the fairway during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

A water feature on 7th during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Regionals at UT Golf Course on May 13, 2019.

Men's Golf 5/13/2019 4:22:00 PM

GOLF | Gaels Open Play at Regionals in Austin

Saint Mary's began their fifth straight NCAA Regional appearance on Monday at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas — Saint Mary's got off to a strong start in the opening round of the NCAA Regionals but couldn't maintain their momentum on the final nine holes as they now sit in 12th place after 18 holes at the University of Texas Golf Club.

LEADERBOARD
No. 18 Pepperdine and No. 6 Texas lead the pack heading into Tuesday with combined scores of 6-under each. The Waves and Longhorns were just two of four teams that shot under par on the day along with No. 30 TCU (4-under) and No. 31 Arkansas (2-under).

The Gaels finished the round at 23-over and will need to catch up to fifth-place Clemson (even) for a shot to go the NCAA Championships.

Saint Mary's began play off the 10th tee with early success and were just 3-over as they began the front-9. Things began to quickly unravel for the Gaels however and bogeys started to plague the team's scorecard. No hole gave SMC more trouble than the 237-yard par 3 on 8th as each Gael in the lineup recorded at least a bogey.

Blake Hathcoat and Michael Slesinski led the team with 5-over scores on the first day. Rounding out the lineup was Ethan Ashbrook at 6-over, Ryan Grauman at 7-over, and Ethan Farnam at 8-over.

The Longhorns' Pierceson Coody stands alone at the top of the medalist leaderboard at 5-under while three competitors trail by just one stroke. Only 12 of the 75 players shot under par on Monday.

The full leaderboard can be found by clicking here.

CHATTING WITH COACH HARDY

"This is a really good golf course. It's tough and it's long but it's good at separating the players who are hitting the proper shots and those who aren't. I thought it was difficult but scorable at the same time. We didn't play as well as we're capable of."
"We started off well, we made a few birdies between 12 and 14. We talked about the front-9 being a little more scorable, I don't know if our guys started pressing more to score better but they weren't able to carry the good start into the final stretch."

FIRST ROUND HIGHLIGHTS

Slesinski had back-to-back birdies on 13th and 14th.
Three Gaels birdied the 13th hole.
Hathcoat finished strong with a birdie on 9th.
Grauman was 1-under through the first six holes of the day.

PHOTO GALLERY

Pictures from the first round can be viewed by clicking here.

UP NEXT: DAY TWO

The Regionals continue tomorrow with the Gaels set to tee off at 8:55 on Hole 10. More information and links to live scoring can be found on the team's schedule page.

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