WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - Sophomore Rob Chappell has played plenty of great rounds in his career, and he didn't think this was one of them. Coming off a three-week break, his concentration wasn't sharp and he didn't feel as though he had control of his swing.

And he was the leader for the Dayton Flyers tying a career low of 69 after the first round of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Golf Championship.

Chappell, the 2006 A-10 Rookie of the Year, shot a 34 on the front nine and a 35 on the back to finish tied for fifth overall. It's the lowest score for Chappell this season and his best performance since the IPFW Fall Classic where he shot a 69 as well.

The Flyers as a team are tied for fifth after round one with a team score of 294, the team's second lowest score of the year.

Finishing round one tied for 15th was sophomore Mitch Custenborder, who used the longer course to his advantage to shoot a first round 73. After recording a 37 on the first nine holes, he battled back with a 36 on the back nine to finish the day one over par.

Custenborder has picked up his play of late shooting a round of 80 or lower in five of his last seven rounds.

Freshman Kenny Wittenberg had similar success to Custenborder with a first round 74 enter the clubhouse in a tie for 23rd. Wittenberg like Custenborder tallied a 36 on the back nine to finish with his best round of golf in his Dayton career.

Seniors Sam Morton and John Zaller each tallied scores of 78, just four strokes over par. Morton's front nine came in at 37 and the back was 43, while Zaller shot a 38 in the first nine holes and a 40 on the remaining nine.

In all, 14 golfers shot par or under and 10 are within six strokes of the lead.

The defending champion Charlotte 49ers lead the first round with a team score of 275. However, Dayton is two strokes back of fourth and seven strokes back of third.

Last season the Flyers finished the A-10 Championship in eighth. Second round play commences at 8 a.m. on Saturday, with the final round of the 54-hole event taking place on Sunday.