DADE CITY - After the completion of the first round of the 2014 Sunshine State Conference Championships here Sunday afternoon, almost every team is still in the running. Eight teams are within 16 strokes of co-leaders, top-ranked Barry and No. 2 ranked Lynn, with Florida Southern among them in eighth place after shooting a first round score of 298 at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.
The Mocs first round score puts them just five shots behind fourth place and eighth-ranked Nova Southeastern, who shot a five-over 293 on Sunday and just one shot behind both Rollins and Eckerd, who each shot nine-over 297's in Sunday's first round.  Â
SSC Golf Championship Central
Lynn and Barry opened the first round by firing a six-under 282's to hold the first round lead together as they two shots in front of Saint Leo, who shot a four-under 284 on its home course to stand second and are 11 shots in front of Nova Southeastern. Only three teams finished under par in the first round. Florida Tech shot a 294 and sits in fifth place, while Tampa carded a 311 to stand ninth overall.
Leading the way for the Mocs in Sunday's first round was senior Shane Convery (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) as he fired a one-under 71 to stand in an eight-way tie for fifth place. Convery, who had four birdies and four bogeys on his first scorecard, was one of 12 players player to shoot under par in the first round.
Three players are tied for first on the player leaderboard with first round scores of four-under par 68. Among the players tied for the lead are Saint Leo's Ryan Gendron, Barry's Berry Jole and Lynn's Elliott Whitley. Barry's Adam Svensson, who is the top-ranked men's golfer in Division II according to the latest Golfstat rankings, shot a two-under 70 to stand in fourth place.
In addition to Convery, sophomore Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla.) fired an even-par 72 to stand in a tie for 13th place. Schultz recorded three birdies and three bogeys in the first round to be one of four golfers to shoot even-par on the day.
The third counter for the 19th-ranked Moccasins was senior All-American Tim Crouch (Mt. Vernon, Ohio), who shot a three-over 75 to stand tied for 25th. The defending NCAA Division II individual national champion recorded four birdies, five bogeys and had a double-bogey on the par-4 No. 1 hole to open the day in Sunday's first round.
Freshman Jason Huntington (Lakeland, Fla.) was the final counter for the Mocs on Sunday as he shot an 80 to stand tied for 38th place.
The final competitor for the Mocs was freshman Levin Hoffman (Sarstedt, Germany), who fired an 82 in his first-ever collegiate round to stand tied for 43rd place. Hoffman had one memorable hole on Sunday as he shot an eagle on the par-5 No. 9 hole.
FSC will continue play in the SSC Championship on Monday as the second of three rounds begins at 8:15 a.m.Â
