Houston, Texas - Willamette Men's Golf shot rounds of 290 and 298 and sits in fourth place overall after the first day of the Space City Classic hosted by Trinity University.  The Bearcats are eight strokes behind the University of St. Thomas (TX) and four ahead of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Alexander Papajohn led the way for Willamette in the opening round with a 4-under par 67.  Papajohn started off his round with an eagle three on the par-5 second hole and tallied three birdies in his round with one bogey.  Brock Olson was in second place for the Bearcats with an opening round 72, followed by Lucas Paul with a 75, Oliver Smith at 76, and Kyler Phillips shooting an 81.

It was Olson's turn to shoot under par in round two, carding a 1-under 70 with birdies on his first two holes.  Papajohn recovered from a slow start to the second eighteen and birdied three holes on the back nine to finish with a 74.  Smith duplicated his 75 from the opening round, followed by Paul and Phillips both with rounds of 78.

Papajohn is alone in fourth place overall in the individual standings with a 1-under total of 141, followed by Olson in fifth with an even-par 142.

The final round of play will begin with a shotgun start on Tuesday, February 25th, at 8:00 a.m. CST/6:00 a.m. PST. The Bearcats' next tournament will be the Boxer Invitational, hosted by Pacific University from March 8 to 9, 2025, at Pumpkin Ridge GC in North Plains, Oregon.