The back-to-back reigning SWAC men’s golf champions sat in second place after the first day of the 2025 SWAC championship.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff trailed Florida A&M by five strokes at the conclusion of Monday’s first round at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham, Alabama.
FAMU finished round one 6 over par, with UAPB shooting +11.
Texas Southern sat in third at +14, followed by Alabama A&M at +19 and Southern at +20. Prairie View A&M (+23) and Alabama State (+31) rounded out the seven-team field.
UAPB sophomore Jose Berenguel led the team on Monday. He shot even par and sat tied for fifth with Jacob Holloway of Prairie View A&M. Juan Melida, a freshman, sat tied for ninth with a +2, while sophomore Timur Alalin followed with a +3 and sat in 12th place.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Jonathon Baumann, a freshman, shot +6 and was tied for 15th, with sophomore Jules De Reu shooting +10 and wrapping up the first round tied for 28th out of 39 golfers.
FAMU had three golfers in the top eight Monday, including Miguel Ilas, whose -2 tied him with Tristan Garrett of Texas Southern for the individual lead. Niall Bagnell of Alabama A&M and Thomas Reid of Southern sat tied for third after shooting -1.
UAPB has come from behind before. Last year, the Golden Lions trailed Alabama State by three strokes after the first round but went on to win the title, its second in as many years. UAPB finished nine strokes ahead of FAMU and 10 ahead of ASU in 2024.
Last week, UAPB finished 14 strokes better than FAMU in a tournament hosted by Tennessee State in the Nashville area.
The second round of the SWAC championship will be played Tuesday with the final round on Wednesday.