HOUSTON – On the first day of the four-day NCAA Division III Championships, the Williams women's golf team got off to a rocky start, shooting a 19 over par 307.

 

The four best scores on each five-member team count in the scoring.

 

Emory University leads the tournament field with a first round score of 292, which is just four shots over par. Williams is in 9th place in the 29-team field. Its players will go off the first tee Wednesday at 12:50 p.m. CST. The Williams golfers will be playing with the teams from Methodist University and George Fox University

 

Senior Jo Kim posted the best round Tuesday for Williams, carding a one over par 73. Kim bogeyed her second hole (hole No. 11) and then recorded seven straight pars to make the turn at one over. On her second nine (the front nine) she bogeyed both the first hole and the second hole, but she rebounded with a birdie on hole number three, rang up five consecutive pars before she birdied her last hole (No. 9) to finish one over.

 

Junior Catalin Yturralde finished with a 75, three over par. Yturralde was 2-over par on her first nine holes and 1-over on the second nine. She opened her round with a birdie on 10th hole, but bogeys on 11, 14 and 17 left her two over par on her first nine. Seven pars, two bogeys, and a birdie on the 8th hole (her 17th hole) left Yturralde 3-over on the day.

 

Senior Olivia White shot a 79 (+7), while sophomore Tiany Zhuang had an 80 (+8), and junior Malini Rudra shot an 85 (+13).

 

"We didn't start the round well," Williams head coach Tomas Adalsteinsson said. "Took us some time to figure out the wind and distances. But the team did really well by continuing to battle and finishing strong. We played the last three holes 4-under par as a team, and for us it shows we can. We practiced a bit after the round and we're excited to get back out there tomorrow."