SMITHVILLE, Mo. – The Minot State men's golf team finds itself tied for 8^th after the opening day of play at the NSIC Men's Golf Championship held at the Paradise Pointe Golf Club.

The Beavers shot an opening-round team score of 22-over 310 and sit tied with in-state rival the University of Mary.

Senior Zach Hendrickson led the way for Minot State on the opening day of the tournament as he fired a 3-over 75 and is tied for 17^th individually.

Teammates Kasen Rostad and Max Karnik each carded 5-over 77s on Friday and are tied for 27^th for the Beavers, while Gunther Soltvedt shot a 9-over 81 and is tied for 42nd, and Gage Olson turned in a 14-over 86 and is 50^th for Minot State.

Defending champion Concordia-St. Paul started the 54-hole Championship strong as the Golden Bears shot a team score of 2-under 286 and lead the team standings by 8 shots over Bemidji State and Winona State, who each turned in 6-over 294s team totals on Friday.

Concordia-St. Paul's Sean Leutner leads the individual tournament standings by two shots as he carded a 4-under 68 on Friday. Minnesota Crookston's Marc Bofarull and Winona State's Max Jericho are tied for 2nd at 2-under 70, and Logan Schoepp added the day's other sub-par round of 1-under 71 and is 4th.

The NSIC Men's Golf Championship continues with 18 holes of golf on Saturday and concludes with a final 18 holes on Sunday.