FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. --- The Tusculum women's golf team fired an opening round 296 to take the day one lead at the 2018 Lincoln Memorial Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate on Monday.  The two-day, 36-hole event is being held at the par-71, 5,844-yard Fleming Island Golf Club.

The Pioneers, who are ranked 37^th in the nation, have a one-shot lead over the host No. 48 Lincoln Memorial (297) and three shots clear of 29^th-ranked North Georgia, who is in third place.

Tusculum junior Cydney Murrell paced the Pioneers with her even par round of 71.  Murrell opened with a pair of birdies to start her round and finished with five on the day to go along with five bogeys and eight pars.  She is one shot off the pace set by first round leader Abbey Hartsell of Lenoir-Rhyne who posted a one-under par 70.

TC senior Ciara Rattana is tied for fifth place with her opening 73 (+1).  She opened with a bogey and proceeded to birdie three of the next five holes to get to two-under par.  Bogeys on holes seven and eight followed by six straight pars had her at even par. She bogeyed No. 15 and No. 18 to finish her opening round.

Junior Katie Tomassoni shot 75 and is tied for 12^th place.  Tomassoni stumbled out of the gate shooting a five-over par 41 in her first nine holes. But she rebounded nicely shooting one-under par 34 with birdies on No. 14 and No. 18 with a bogey on No. 13 as the only blemish on her inward nine.

Junior Taylor White is tied for 18^th place with a 77, while freshman Mackenzie Butler is 53^rd following her 97.  TC senior Sayre Hopper shot 94, playing as an individual competitor and is in 52^nd place.

Lenoir-Rhyne, the No. 32 team in NCAA Division II, is in fourth place following a team score of 300.  No. 11 Wingate is in fifth place with 305, while No. 31 Carson-Newman is sixth with 314.  Coker is seventh 316, followed by 39^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte (317), Belmont Abbey (318) and Southern Wesleyan (322) to round out the field.

Tusculum's 296 is the third lowest round in school history and the best 18-hole score not shot on its home course, Link Hills Country Club.

The final round will be played on Tuesday.

Team Results

Tusculum Individual Scores

* individual competitor