Jacksonville State currently leads the Ohio Valley Conference women’s golf tournament after Monday’s first round action.

The Gamecocks shot 13-over-par as a team and hold a one-stroke lead over Eastern Kentucky. Junior Melania Bajo Geijo led the Gamecocks, paring 11 of the 18 holes.

The tournament is being held in the Gamecocks home state of Alabama.

Geijo is third overall in the tournament, behind Tennessee Tech’s Whitney Robertson and Belmont’s Mallory Sullivan. Robertson, a sophomore, hit two-under-par, while the freshman Sullivan hit one-under-par in the first round.

Tennessee Tech and Belmont finished the day in third and fourth place, respectively.

The Panthers finished day one in Alabama, hitting 39-over-par, which puts them in eighth place, ahead of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Tennessee State. Sophomore Alexandra Pickens leads the Panthers, hitting six-over-par, and is tied for 17^th place with eight other players.

Fellow sophomore Chloe Wong hit eight-over-par and finished the day tied for 28^th place, while freshman Anne Bahr hit nine-over-par and finished tied for 31^st place. Both Wong and Bahr were the only Panthers to place in the tournament’s Top 30.

The Panthers tied for the lead in converted birdies, hitting eight on Monday. They tied with the Bruins

Eastern Kentucky finished second on Monday, hitting 14-over-par, while Tennessee Tech followed the Colonels, hitting 16-over-par. The Colonels hit for par 65 times and the Golden Eagles hit for par 55 times.

Sophomore Emilie Simmons led the Colonels, hitting two-over-par, including converting for par 13 times. She finished tied for fourth, while teammates Anna Gleixner and Sofie Levin also joined her in the top 10. Gleixner, a junior, and Levin, a sophomore, hit three-over and four-over-par, respectively.

Gleixner finished eighth and Levin tied for ninth place for the Colonels, who led on both Par 3 and Par 4 scoring. They averaged 3.15 strokes on Par 3 and 4.16 on Par 4.

Murray State rounded out the Top Five, hitting 24-over-par with sophomore Minta Yin leading the way, tied for fourth place overall. Yin has hit two-over-par and tied with four other players.

Monday’s tournament was pushed back a few hours because of wet, rainy conditions in Owen’s Crossroads, Ala. Weather permitting, tomorrow’s second round action is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. The tournament will continue for the next two days at the 54-hole Highlands Golf Course.

Blake Nash can be reached at 581-2812 or banash@eiu.edu