GREENSBURG, Pa. – Led by sophomore Ellis Yoder (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead HS), the Bentley University Falcons finished the opening day of the NCAA Division II East/Atlantic Men's Golf Regional Thursday at the Totteridge Golf Club in a tie for fourth place.

In a round interrupted by a lightning delay of nearly an hour, Bentley posted a team score of 304. The top three after the third round will advance to the NCAA Division II Championships and coach Mickey Herron's team currently trails Wilmington University (Del.) by eight and both Franklin Pierce University and Southern New Hampshire University by six strokes. A total of 20 teams are competing.

Bentley fared better before the delay, which happened about at the midpoint of the round, with the Falcons four over as a team on their first nine holes and 12-over on their last nine. All five opened play on the tenth hole.

Yoder paced the Falcons with his 38-36-74 good for a tie for 11th place. His day included two birdies, 12 pars and four bogeys.

Next for the Falcons was junior Robert Falconer (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS). With 15 pars, he turned in a 37-39-76 and is tied for 21st in the 68-player field.

Bentley also received 77's from both sophomore Tommy Ethier (Nashua, N.H./Bishop Guertin HS) and senior Chris Simione (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire HS), as well as a 39-39-78 from senior Doug Kulikowski (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland HS). Ethier was up-and-down all day with five birdies, four bogeys, three doubles and only six pars.

The individual leader is Southern New Hampshire's Matt Paradis, with a five-under 67.

Bentley, after playing in the afternoon during the first round, will be in the first group to tee off Friday, beginning at 7:30 am.