Day #1 Results (.pdf)

YORKTOWN, Ind. - The IUPUI women's golf team opened play at the Cardinal Classic, sitting in third-place among the 12-team field after a first round 314 at the par-72 Players Club in Yorktown, Ind.. Host Ball State leads the way at 309 and Marshall is second at 310.

IUPUI is three shots in front of fourth-place Western Michigan and seven clear of Dayton heading into Sunday's final round, scheduled to begin with a 9:00 a.m. shotgun start. The Jaguars are easily in front of both Summit League foes in the field after Oakland shot 323 and Western Illinois posted a 339.

Senior Jordan Essman led the way with a 5-over 77 after she carded 12 pars during Saturday's round. Essman is tied for fifth among the 74-player field and is five shots off the lead. Head coach John Andrews' squad continued to show impressive depth at the top of the lineup as sophomore Yuri Otsuka is tied for eighth after shooting 78 (+6) and senior Jordan Woods turned in a 79 (+7).

Senior Lauren Kuss rounded out the scoring four with an 80 (+8) and sophomore Carolyn Kupchik shot an 83 (+11) in her first lineup appearance.

"We only had seven birdies as a team, and for us, that's a minimal number. I need one of those four girls to shoot par for us to be where we want to be," IUPUI head coach John Andrews said. "They're all really good players and they're all capable of shooting under par, but for us to be a really good team, we need one of them to shoot par every round we play.

"I thought Kupchik played really well today after starting poorly. She's trying to help us. She just keeps getting better and is getting more comfortable out there."

Fellow sophomore Lauren Mains is tied for 25th after shooting an 81 (+9) while playing as an individual.

"Mains played well and is getting better all the time. She works really hard and the more she and Kupchik continue to improve, the more they're going to help us."

Marshall's Korakot Simsiriwong leads the field after an opening round even par 72 and Ball State's Jenna Hague is second at 75. The last 90 minutes of Saturday's round was played in strong winds, which hindered the Jaguars down the stretch. Aside from Essman, the rest of the IUPUI lineup struggled at the close of Saturday's round.

"The wind made it tougher and it definitely affected us," Andrews said. "I thought the golf course played a little harder than it has in the past. During the practice round, it played very firm, but with all the rain we got last night, it was really soft and played a lot longer, even before the wind picked up."

IUPUI will be paired with leader Ball State and second-place Marshall for the final 18 holes on Sunday.

Team Standings
1. Ball State - 309 (+21)
2. Marshall - 310 (+22)
3. IUPUI - 314 (+26)
4. Western Michigan - 317 (+29)
5. Dayton - 321 (+33)
6. Oakland - 323 (+35)
7. Valparaiso - 325 (+37)
8. Ohio - 328 (+40)
9. Northern Illinois - 333 (+45)
10. Western Illinois - 339 (+51)
t-11. Northern Kentucky - 346 (+58)
t-11. UIC - 346 (+58)

Individual Standings
t-5. Jordan Essman - 77 (+5)
t-8. Yuri Otsuka - 78 (+6)
t-15. Jordan Woods - 79 (+7)
t-21. Lauren Kuss - 80 (+8)
t-33. Carolyn Kupchik - 83 (+11)
*t-25. Lauren Mains - 81 (+9)
       *playing as an individual