By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA – Head coach Chris Malloy's advice to his young USF team throughout the week was treat the NCAA tournament like any other round of golf throughout the season.

“That's easy to see but hard to do, especially when you're experiencing a lot of this stuff for the first time,” Malloy said.

The Big East champion Bulls didn't let the big stage phase them one bit Thursday, starting the Tallahassee Regional at 8 under and in a tie for fourth with No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 43 Oregon. No. 19 North Florida leads the field at 16 under followed by No. 6 Washington (-12) and No. 12 FSU (-11) at Golden Eagle Golf and Country Club.

The top five teams from each region advance to the NCAA championship rounds and Malloy was pleased to see his Bulls take a huge step in the right direction during the first NCAA tournament round for every player in the lineup.

“For them to really come out and play well the first day of the NCAA tournament without having that prior experience is something really exciting and comforting for a coach to see,” Malloy said. “They weren't afraid. They got off to a good start, faced a little adversity throughout the round and did a great job finishing.”

Big East Player and Freshman of the Year Chase Koepka continued his solid season by shooting a 4-under 68 that has him in a tie for sixth place individually with teammate Richard James. They'll start Friday's second round three shots away from leader MJ Maguire of North Florida.

James, a junior All-Big East Team member, collected five birdies, including a pair in his final two holes of the day. Koepka posted six birdies in his round that was highlighted by a 3-under score in his final nine holes.

“Those two guys have done a pretty darn good job of leading over the past month and they really finished strong,” Malloy said.

Sophomore Trey Valentine brought his birdie count up to four and finished the round just a shot away from his teammates at 3 under. Senior Devin Hernandez carded a 3-over 75 and freshman Jeffrey Meltzer posted a 77.

“I'm really proud of them. They've put themselves in a great position to make a run at this thing,” Malloy said.

Follow Friday's round in progress HERE.

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