36-hole leader Alejandro Tosti
(Florida Athletics Photo)

The Gators, 6-under, were led once again by medalist pace setter Alejandro Tosti. A native of Argentina, Tosti is 10-under and ahead by two shots following rounds of 66-68. After an even-par front side Tosti caught fire on the back nine playing the side in 4-under 32.

Tosti, in search of his third career win, did bogey the 11th hole but he bounced back with birdies on Nos. 12 and 14, an eagle on the par-5 15th and a birdie on the last. Overall Tosti, a senior, played the final seven holes in 5-under and he has played the back nine in 8-under for the tournament.

While Tosti continued to surge the rest of Gators line up struggled with no other player breaking par. Gordon Neale turned in the second best Florida score of the day, an even-par 72, and at even-par for the tournament he is tied for 20th and the second highest member of the Florida team.

"Today wasn't our best day as a team but Alejandro played fantastic on the back nine and kept us atop the leaderboard," head coach JC Deacon said following the second round. "We are all going to go out tomorrow and play our hardest to win this event. We also understand there are much more important things going on right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone back home battling Hurricane Irma."

Both No. 18 Georgia Tech and No. 19 Alabama are 5-under in a tie for second place, Tennessee sits in fourth at 4-under while No. 7 LSU and No. 13 Auburn are tied for fifth at 1-under.

Alabama made the biggest move of the day as they were 11-under during the second round to jump six-spots up the leaderboard. On Saturday the Crimson Tide were led by Lee Hodges (T11; -3) 5-under 67.

Behind Tosti in the individual race are Lorenzo Scalise of Tennessee in second place at 8-under, Georgia Tech's Andy Ogletree; Trace Crowe of Auburn are fourth at 7-under and Clemson's Bryson Nimmer sits in fifth at 6-under.

ROUND ONE RECAP

With their minds on home and the approaching Hurricane Irma No. 10 Florida was still able to begin their 2017-2018 campaign in fine fashion on Friday. Paced by Alejandro Tosti's 6-under 66 the Gators are currently 7-under and leading a deep early season field at the Carpet Capital Collegiate hosted by The Farm Golf Club.

"Honestly, it has been tough to focus on golf this week. Our thoughts and prayers are definitely back in Florida with our family, friends, and everyone who will be affected by the hurricane," said Florida head coach JC Deacon. "We did get up here early to prepare and the guys did a great job getting ready to play. We had a great start today and will continue to play hard for everyone back home. "

Tosti, a senior, got his flawless round of golf off to a fast start with a birdie on the 1st and a second on the 3rd to quickly reach 2-under. Following his second birdie the 2017 SEC Individual Champion strung together six pars in a row before really heating up on the second nine.

On the 10th hole Tosti carded his third birdie of the day and then on the par-5 12th he rolled in an eagle to reach 5-under. Two holes later, on the par-4 14th Tosti recorded his final circle of the round as he finished the round with four birdies and an eagle.

In addition to Tosti Florida received top-15 play on the day from Chris Nido (T9, -1), Gordon Neale (T14, E) and Jorge Garcia (T14, E).

When the second round begins on Saturday Florida will be charged with holding off a handful of talented teams. Tennessee, led by Chase Roswall (2nd, -5) and Lorenzo Scalise (3rd, -4), are in second place at 6-under, No. 18 Georgia Tech at 1-under is in third place, 13th-ranked Auburn sits in fourth at 1-over while No. 7 LSU and South Carolina are 4-over in a tie for fifth.

The remainder of the individual standings is rounded out by a trio of players at 3-under sharing fourth; Andy Ogletree (Georgia Tech), Trace Crowe (Auburn) and Chase Cole (Dalton State).