What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State opened the 24th annual John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate shooting 310 to sit in eighth-place following the first round.
* A total of 15 teams are competing at Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge in the lone event hosted by the Panthers this year.
* Live scoring throughout the event can be found at GolfStat.com. Admission is free to the public.
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. – The Georgia State women's golf team shot an opening round 310 to stand in eighth-place following the first day of the 24th annual John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate at Eagle's Landing Country Club.
Murray State opened play with a 5-over 293 to lead the 54-hole event, while Eastern Kentucky's Elsa Moberly shot an impressive 4-under 68 to hold the individual lead following the first round.
Redshirt-sophomore Emily Royer and freshman Harmanprit Kaur led the Panthers with first round 77's and sit in a tie for 33rd with 36 holes to play.
“Honestly, we dug ourselves a pretty big hole after just three holes and we fought all day to get out of it,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “We played much better the middle 12 holes, but then stumbled coming in. I'm sure nerves played a big part it that. Hopefully we can come out better on Monday and climb the leaderboard.”
Senior Solene Le Coz and sophomore Jemima Gregson are tied for 40th after each shot rounds of 78 on Sunday, while senior Jooeun Bae is tied for 48th following an opening round 79.
Three Panthers are also competing as individuals this week. Junior Paula Zabarte sits tied for 22nd following a first day 76, while junior Yasemin Sari is tied for 33rd after a 77. Freshman Grace Choi rounds out the group following a 79 and is tied for 48th.
Murray State leads Eastern Kentucky by one stroke as the Colonels stand at 6-over par. Oral Roberts is in third at 8-over par, with Kansas State in fourth at 10-over. Winthrop and Florida Gulf Coast sit tied for fifth at 12-over par.
Moberly holds a three-stroke lead over a trio of golfers. Oral Roberts' Kennedy Ishee, Florida Gulf Coast's Madeline Marck-Sherk and Murray State's Anna Moore are tied for second place at 1-under par. Tulsa's Nadia Majidizadeh and Kansas State's Tash Carlsson are tied for fifth at even par.
Live scoring throughout the event can be found at Golfstat.com. Georgia State will be paired with Tulsa and UAB for the second round, teeing off at 8:30 a.m., on Hole No. 1. Admission to the tournament is free of charge.
Following this week's tournament, Georgia State will return to action April 3-4 for the Web.com Intercollegiate in Jacksonville, Fla. It will mark the final event of the regular season for the Panthers.
