SANDESTIN, Fla. – Ben Carr fired a 69, and Georgia Southern's four counters all shot under par in the first round of the Sun Belt Men's Golf Championship Sunday at Raven Golf Club.

The Eagles (-5) are in third place, a stroke behind Coastal Carolina (-6) and Little Rock, which are tied for first. Arkansas State (-3) is fourth. The top-4 teams advance to match play Wednesday, and the team and individual champion receive an automatic bid to NCAA Regionals.

Jake Maples, Brett Barron and Colin Bowles all shot 70 for Georgia Southern. Carr rolled in four birdies on the day and got to 3-under after a birdie at the 379-yard, par-4 10th. 

Barron played the back nine 2-under with birdies at 11 and 12, and Bowles, who is making his Georgia Southern debut, made an 18-foot birdie on 18 to get under par. Maples made the turn at 2-under after birdies on 7 and 8 and got as low as 3-under with a birdie on 10.

Scores
Ben Carr – 69 (-2), T7
Jake Maples – 70 (-1), T14
Colin Bowles - 70 (-1), T14
Brett Barron – 70 (-1), T14
Steven Fisk – 75 (+4), T50
Team – 279 (-5), 3

Quotable from Coach Carter Collins
"It was a solid team day at The Raven. To have three guys in the lineup that haven't seen this course to play as solid as they did bodes well for us moving forward. This event is all about good position, and so far, we have done our job. To accomplish our goal, we will need to stay focused and continue to show the GRIT this team has."

Next up
The Eagles will play with Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State again in tomorrow's second round. They tee off the 10th hole at 9:15 a.m. ET. Coverage on ESPN+ begins at 8:30 a.m. ET.