Griz shoot 313 as Eagle Invitational opens

The Montana women's golf team shot an opening-round 313 on Monday as the three-day Eagle Invitational got under way at Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane, Wash.

The Grizzlies are sitting in eighth place out of nine teams with 36 holes still to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"It's a real up-and-down course and we didn't put many approach shots close," said coach Kris Nord. "The greens are a little bit challenging, but we're not giving ourselves chances for birdies or pars.

"The other teams had kids who played real well, but we've got some kids who can shoot below 75 on this course. I'm really hoping we respond tomorrow."

Jessica Ponce and Madison Cecil both shot 77, with Ponce carding an eagle on the 442-yard par-five 14th. They are tied for 24th. Raina Ports shot a 79 and is tied for 38th.

Also competing as scoring players for Montana were Tricia Joyce, who shot an 80, and Kylie Franklin, who shot an 82.

Freshman Kendall Hayward, who had a scoring average of 78.0 through Montana's first two tournaments of the fall, is sitting out this week.

Emmy Sundby (78), Meredith Boos (82) and Hannah Ports (83) are competing as individuals.

Sundby, who played the course's four par-5's at 2-under, birdied two of the course's final five holes to shoot her best round of the fall.

"She gave herself opportunities and converted. She made a great putt on the last hole and made a very, very good approach shot on one of the other par 5's," said Nord.

"These par 5's are gettable. We're real frustrated we're playing them the way we're playing them."

Weber State (291), Montana State (294) and Eastern Washington (296) sit atop the leaderboard through 18 holes.

Montana State's Scarlet Weidig-Velazquez, Weber State's Isabel Gutierrez and CSU Bakersfield's Iris Han all shot a 2-under 70 on Monday and hold the 18-hole lead.

The tournament is set up as a three-day, 18-18-18 tournament rather than the more traditional two-day 36-18 format.

"It's nice to have some reflection time to regroup," said Nord. "We need to step it up and play better or we're going to fall behind these teams. I think our kids know that and see that."

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Meredith Boos

Madison Cecil

Kylie Franklin

Kendall Hayward

Tricia Joyce

Jessica Ponce

Hannah Ports

Raina Ports

Emmy Sundby

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