BETHLEHEM, PA – Rick van der Nat (Noordwijk, The Netherlands/Visser 't Hooft) and Michael McCrone (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) shot two-under 70 and the Rider University men's golf team shot even-par 288 in Friday's opening round of the Lehigh Invitational at Saucon Valley Country Club. van der Nat and McCrone are tied for second individually, while the Broncs are also second as a team, three strokes behind leader St. John's (285, -3).

van der Nat was consistent across the board, shooting two-under on the Par 5's, one-under on the Par 4's and one-over on the Par 3's. He had six birdies on the round, most of ay competitor. McCrone countered with five birdies as part of a three-under performance on the Par 4's, the best mark of the round. He played the Par 3's at even par and the Par 5's at one-over.

Jack Urban (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair) shot a one-over 73 and sits tied for 14^th after the first round. The Broncs also counted Louie Giovacchini's (Windermere, FL/Windermere) three-over 75. He's tied for 25^th. Zander Gibson (Concord, OH/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) also competed, shooting eight-over 80 (T-55^th).

QUOTES & NOTES
"Just an all-around solid day for us. We're looking forward to getting after it tomorrow." – Rider Head Coach Jason Barry

- The Broncs are coming off a win at the Bucknell Invitational.
- Led by individual leader Brendan Smith at four-under 68, St. John's shot three-under 285 to take the team lead after the first round.
- The Broncs are one of four MAAC schools in competition, joining Siena (298, +10, 6^th), Fairfield (305, +17, 9^th) and Iona (310, +22, 10^th).   
- The Broncs led the field with a six-under performance on the Par 5's and 19 birdies on the round.  

UP NEXT
The Broncs conclude the Fall season Saturday at the second round of the Lehigh Invitational at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, PA.