MEADVILLE, Pa. - After the first day of the 44th Annual Guy and Jeanne Kuhn Memorial Invitational hosted by Allegheny College at the Country Club of Meadville on Sunday, the Penn State Altoona men's golf team found itself tied for ninth place out of 18 teams.

Penn State Altoona combined for a team score of 318 on Sunday, representing a six-stroke improvement over last weekend's score of 324 in the Pitt-Bradford Invitational. The Lions finished the first round of the two-day competition ahead of fellow Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend, who was in 11th place with a score of 321 after day one.

Wittenberg University held down first place after the first day with a team score of 299. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was in second with a score of 309, and the College of Wooster and McDaniel College were tied for third place with 310.

Luke Hoffnagle (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove) was the top performer for the Lions, shooting a 73 on the par 72 course to tie for third place individually out of 99 golfers.

"Luke Hoffnagle played one of the best rounds by a Penn State Altoona golfer in a number of years," said Penn State Altoona head golf coach Tom Koehle. "To be near the top of a leaderboard that includes defending national champions is remarkable. I'm excited to see him back it up tomorrow."

Hunter Duriez (Northern Cambria, PA/Northern Cambria) and Jimmy Gillespie (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley) each carded an 81 to tie for 41st place individually.

Pongthong Thongyai (Patum Thani, Thailand/New Mexico Military Institute) finished the day with an 83, and Chris Michelone (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) shot a 96.

Penn State Altoona will look to ascend the standings during day two of the Kuhn Invitational tomorrow, Monday, September 11. The first tee times are set for 8:30 a.m. for round two.