YORKTOWN, Ind. – In the first day of the Brittany Kelly Classic held at The Players Club, the IUPUI women's golf team never dropped lower than fifth on the leaderboard, finishing fourth overall after the first two rounds of play. Hosts Ball State paced play, leading the 13-team field after day one.

"The girls had some really good stuff today," said head coach Jamie Broce. "Madeline and Shelby were solid all the way through. It was fun to see them play well and compete to the end. Annaliese had a good start which was big for us in the first round. We will work even harder on scoring, specifically on the par 5's and putting the ball in good spots to attack. If we can turn some of the bogeys into birdie opportunities that would give us some good momentum for tomorrow and the rest of the fall."

The day started off with a bang when Annaliese Fox birdied her opening hole, the par-4 eighth, to give the Jags an early advantage on the leaderboard after tallying the tournament's first birdie.
Fox, a senior from Fountaintown, racked up five straight pars before dropping a shot at the 14^th. Fox quickly bounced back, carding back-to-back birdies to get back under par. After the first nine holes, Fox shared the lead at 2-under. Two straight bogeys at holes two and three pushed her back to even par, where she would finish after ending the round with four straight pars.

After two pars to open her second 18, Fox bogeyed hole 10 to drop to 1-over on the round. A birdie at the next quickly got her back to even-par. Fox would again bounce back after an unfortunate triple-bogey at the par3 13^th, birdying number 15. A tough stretch in the final 10 holes saw the senior card five bogeys, including the final two holes of the day, but Fox's rounds of 72 and 79 have her sitting inside the top 20.

Fellow senior, Shelby Busker, also shared the nine-hole lead after birdying holes 10 and 12—her sixth and eighth holes of the day after starting on hole five. Busker remained 2-under after 14 holes of play but back-to-back bogeys at holes one and two dropped her back to even on the round. A final hole birdie got Busker back to red numbers and just one shot off the lead.

In round number two, Busker opened with a birdie at the par-3 fifth to jump up to a tie for first. After another birdie on her second hole, Busker was alone atop the leaderboard with a two-shot advantage. After the first nine holes of round two Busker was still 2-under, registering three birdies and a bogey. However, a 3-over second nine would push her to 1-over on the round and even for the tournament, placing her in third, just one shot behind the leaders.

"It was a fun day of golf," exclaimed Busker. "I just tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the day."

Madeleine Pape, another senior, also played steady through the opening 16 holes, carding 13 pars along with a birdie and two bogeys. She sat just outside the top 10 at one-over until she dropped three shots in her final two holes of the first round.

Pape shook off the disappointing finish in her opening 18 and rattled off four straight pars before knocking in back-to-back birdies to begin the second round. She remained steady the rest of the round, coming into the final hole at 1-under on the round before double-bogeying the par-5 fourth in her last hole of the day. Pape sits just outside the top 10, T-12 and will look to continue the momentum from round two into day two.

"It was a solid day overall. I had a lot of scoring opportunities that I look forward to putting together tomorrow," said Pape.

Sophomore Reagan Sohn rounded out the scoring for the Jags, shooting 161 (81-80). After opening her first round with three straight pars, Sohn carded four bogeys over the next five holes followed by a double bogey at the difficult 14^th. Sohn showed poise, registering three consecutive pars before recording her second birdie of the day at the par-5 second. However, the sophomore finished 4-over in the last three holes to end round one.

In her second 18, Sohn began with seven straight bogeys. There were fireworks in the second nine, with Sohn carding a birdie and an eagle at the par-5 second.

Nina Wojtczak tallied 12 bogeys in the opening 18 to shoot 84. In round two the freshman began with a double bogey but would birdie her 14^th and 15^th (holes two and three) to card an 81.

Play resumes Tuesday (Sept. 19), with the Jags six shots out of second place.