Day #1 Results (.pdf)

BATAVIA, Ohio - The IUPUI women's golf team was all business to start the 2018-19 season as the Jaguars put up a pair of strong rounds on the opening day of the NKU Fall Classic at Elks Run Golf Club on Monday (Sept. 10). The Jaguars carded rounds of 302 and 294 and trail only leader Cincinnati, which sits at 584 after 36 holes. 

IUPUI's 596 is 14 shots clear of third-place Lipscomb heading into Tuesday's final round. More than half of the 13-team field consists of Horizon League teams as the Jaguars get an early look at the conference competition. 

Junior Marion Debove is tied for second overall at 2-over 144 (73-71) and sophomore Nicole Howard is in sixth after rounds of 74 and 73. Both rounds were better than her best round of her freshman season as she continues to build on a strong rookie campaign and a solid summer's work. 

"Today was a very long day. I just tried playing each hole as calm and relaxed as I could. A big difference I've noticed between my freshman year and this year is how strong mentally I've gotten and being able to overcome bogeys and bad breaks and just move on to the next hole," Howard said. "Coach Broce always tells us girls to give it everything we've got and that's what I did today and it worked out. It was hard to block out how tired we all were from the 36 holes but as a team I think we did very well for our first tournament and I'm so proud of all my teammates for finishing strong."

A pair of newcomers also provided countable rounds to the cause as Marian-transfer Sloane Winders carded an opening round 73 before finishing her day with a second round 77. True freshman Kara Blair opened the day with a first round 82 before turning around with a second round 73.

Blair was at 2-under midway through her final round before giving back four shots in a four-hole span to go to 2-over. However, she closed with four straight pars to card a strong 73. 

Senior Elizabeth Orr carded rounds of 83 and 77 from the Jaguars' No. 5 spot. Junior Mikala Mawhorter turned in rounds of 88 and 97 while playing as an individual. 

Debove shot 2-under 33 on her final nine holes of the day to cut into Cincinnati's Vanessa Manrique's lead. Manrique carded rounds of 72 and 68 to sit at 140, giving her a four-shot lead over the field. 

IUPUI will be paired with players from Dayton, Lipscomb and Cincinnati for Tuesday's final round, beginning at 8:30 a.m.. 

Team Standings
1. Cincinnati - 287-297=584 (+16)
2. IUPUI - 302-294=596 (+28)
3. Lipscomb - 306-304=610 (+42)
4. Dayton - 307-307=614 (+46)
5. UNC Asheville - 315-300=615 (+47)
6. Morehead State - 306-311=617 (+49)
t-7. Oakland - 319-302=621 (+53)
t-7. Youngstown State - 305-316=621 (+53)
9. Northern Kentucky - 316-306=622 (+54)
10. UIC - 319-313=632 (+64)
11. Green Bay - 319-322=641 (+73)
12. Detroit Mercy - 337-319=656 (+88)
13. Eastern Illinois - 327-333=660 (+92)

Individual Results
t-2. Marion Debove - 73-71=144 (+2)
6. Nicole Howard - 74-73=147 (+5)
t-11. Sloane Winders - 73-77=150 (+8)
t-29. Kara Blair - 82-73=155 (+13)
t-48. Elizabeth Orr - 83-77=160 (+18)
***82. Mikala Mawhorter - 88-97=185 (+43)
   ***playing as an individual