March 11, 2005

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - Freshman Chris Derby scored a 72 and Loyola finished with a Round One score of 302 at the Fort Lauderdale Invitational on Thursday afternoon. The Greyhounds, who are defending champs at this spring-opening tournament, sit four strokes back heading into Friday's final round.

Derby led five Greyhounds in the 70's with T.J. Shuart scoring a 76, Will Shriver and Matt Bassler each posting round of 77 and David Atkinson scoring a 79.

"It was a very windy day and it made the conditions fairly difficult," says Loyola Head Coach Tom Beidleman. "We're off to a pretty good start but need to put together a great day tomorrow to defend our title."

Evansville leads the field with a 298 while Gonzaga is one stroke back of Loyola with a 303. Loyola-Illinois posted a 316, Youngstown State scored a 319 and Holy Cross sits in sixth place with a 320.