SABAT, Va. - UNC Wilmington carded a first-round score of seven-under 281 as the Seahawks built a nine-stroke lead after two rounds in men's golf action on Monday at the VCU Shootout at the Hermitage Country Club.

The Seahawks (281-290=571), who entered the tournament ranked 41st nationally by GolfStat, leads ACC foe and defending tournament champion Wake Forest, who is ranked 47th. Virginia (294-286=580), host VCU (298-283=581) and Richmond (299-285=584) round out the top five.

"Our guys are starting to believe in all their hard work," said UNCW Head Coach Matt Clark. "Today was a real team effort, strong all around golf."

Individually, Wake Forest's Brendan Gielow (70-67=137) holds a two-stroke lead over UNC Greensboro's Robert Hoadley (70-69=139).

UNCW senior Derek Wallace (68-73=141) is tied for fourth while sophomore Taylor Zimmerman (69-73=142) is tied for seventh.

Freshman Stefan Brewer (72-71=143) enters the final round in a tie for 13th. Rounding out the Seahawk lineup are juniors Ryan Sullivan (72-76=148) and Josh Brock (76-73=149) who are tied for 29th and 41th, respectively.

Junior Michael Taylor (78-73=151), who is competing as an individual, is tied for 47th.

Wallace carded an opening round of 68 after recording six birdies, including four on the front nine.

Zimmerman, meanwhile, fashioned a career-low round of 69 in the first round as the sophomore also collected six birdies on the round. "Taylor struggled in our first two events this fall, but it was just a matter of time before he was able to get on-track."

"We slept on the lead at the McLaughlin and I think we learned from our mistakes in the final round of the tournament."

The final round begins with a shotgun start beginning at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday.