No. 1 Bulldogs trail by 3 after 18

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast didn't finish the first round atop the Southwest Mississippi Spring Invitational leaderboard, but the Bulldogs are in position to be there Tuesday.

Gulf Coast trails Northeast by three shots after 18 holes at Quail Hollow Golf Course in McComb. No. 6 Meridian is another two strokes back.

"I thought our guys battled pretty well," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "There were some conditions that were outside our control and they handled them as well as they could. The most important thing is we gave ourselves a chance to win tomorrow."

Matt Wilkinson (So., Madison/Madison Central) rebounded from having to withdraw from last week's Coastal Alabama Invitational with a tight back. He's a 1-under 71, tied for second one shot back of Northeast's Tate Dickerson. 

He's playing as an individual in this event, which means his score didn't count for the Bulldogs team. That would have been a nine-shot swing.

"Matt's really battled back trying to get healthy," Thornton said. "I think today, not only physically he was in good shape but he it also gave him some confidence mentally. I think that will help in the long run."

The nine teams finish play Tuesday in McComb with another 18 holes.

"I thought we gave ourselves 1-5 a chance to win tomorrow," Thornton said. "That's all we can really ask for. Today may not have gone as well as we would have liked it to, but tomorrow we've got a chance."

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