Oakland at Top of Leaderboard After One Day of HL Golf Championship

The Oakland University men's and women's golf teams sit in first place after the first round of play at the 2016 Horizon League Golf Championship held at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

The Golden Grizzlies shot three-over-par 291 as a team in the first round on Friday to hold a four shot lead over second-place and defending champion Cleveland State on the men's side.

The women's team has a three-shot lead on Horizon League newcomer Northern Kentucky.

Defending medalist Evan Bowser led the Oakland men's team with a first round score of two-under-par 70. Bowser is tied with Detroit's Wil Wittmann for first place after the opening round. Cleveland State's Joey Krecic (71) also shot under par in the opening round and sits alone in third. Wright State's Ryan Wenzler and Youngstown State's Steven Sveda shot even par in the first round to tie for fourth place.

The middle of the standings on the men's side is very tight as Wright State is one shot ahead of Youngstown State for third. The Penguins are one shot ahead of Northern Kentucky and Valparaiso who are tied for fifth. Detroit is four shots behind the Norse and Crusaders in seventh and Green Bay rounds out the pack in eighth, seven shots behind the Titans.

On the women's side, the field is paced by Northern Kentucky's Macy Wright who opened the championship with a one-over-par 73 to take two-shot lead over defending champion Emily Dixon of Youngstown State and Oakland's Fiona Schmidt. Cleveland State's Allyson Hackman and Oakland's Morgan Smith are tied for fourth.

Cleveland State is in third place after the first day of play, nine shots behind NKU. Valparaiso is in fourth two shots behind the Vikings, while Detroit is in fifth and defending champion Youngstown State and UIC are tied for sixth. Green Bay is in eighth place.

The second round of the championship starts on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m.

Men's Team Standings
1. Oakland - 291
2. Cleveland State - 295 
3. Wright State - 307 
4. Youngstown State - 308
t5. Valparaiso - 309
t5. Northern Kentucky - 309
7. Detroit - 313
8. Green Bay - 320

Men's Individual Standings
t1. Evan Bowser, Oakland - 70
t1. Wil Wittmann, Detroit - 70
3. Joey Krecic, Cleveland State - 71
t4. Ryan Wenzler, Wright State - 72
t4. Steven Sveda, Youngstown State - 72
t6. Jacob Johnson, Oakland - 73
t6. Paul Minko, Cleveland State - 73
t6. Jake Kneen, Oakland - 73

Women's Team Standings
1. Oakland - 311
2. Northern Kentucky - 314
3. Cleveland State - 323
4. Valparaiso - 325
5. Detroit - 328
t6. Youngstown State - 330
t6. UIC - 330
8. Green Bay - 345

Women's Individual Standings
1. Macy Wright, Northern Kentucky - 73
t2. Fiona Schmidt, Oakland - 75
t2. Emily Dixon, Youngstown State - 75
t4. Allyson Hackman, Cleveland State - 77
t4. Morgan Smith, Oakland - 77
t6. Angie Kim, Valparaiso - 78
t6. Ryleigh Waltz, Northern Kentucky - 78
t6. Elle Nichols, Oakland - 78