At the end of the first round, the Eastern women’s golf team scored a 328 and is currently ninth out of 12 at the Indiana State Spring Invitational.

For the fourth year in a row, the Indiana State Spring Invitational is a two day tournament and is hosted by the Country Club of Terre Haute on a par-72, 6,041 yard course.

The Panthers were led by senior Alexandra Pickens, who is tied for 28th with a round score of 81.

“For the first 14 holes, I played really well,” Pickens said.  “My drives and irons were all solid and I putted pretty well.”

Right behind Pickens is junior Anne Bahr and senior Chloe Wong, both tied for 33rd as they shot an 82.  Like Pickens, Wong said she had a lot working for her in the first round, but she needs to improve on her tee shots.

“My pitch shots were pretty good today.  I was able to hit it close most of the day,” Wong said.  “I need to focus more on my tee shots and it should be a good round.”

For the rest of the Panthers, junior Hannah Magda is tied for 40th with a score of 83 while senior Madison Burgett  is tied for 66th shooting an 89.

Earlier this season, Bahr had her first back injury mid-February and continues to have reoccurring back pains.  Bahr said her mental game was strong today; however her consistent back pains was her biggest setback

“(My swing consistency) feels out of whack, and I attribute it to my back injury more than anything else, but it’s hard to fix inconsistency like that out on the course,” Bahr said. “My mental game was in a good place today though so that was a positive.”

Atop the leader board is William Woods University, placing first with a team score of 306.  Individually, Loyola sophomore Elayna Bowser and William Woods freshman Lucy Matthews both scored a 73, one over par, and are tied for first place.

Adam Shay can be reached at 581-2812 or acshay@eiu.edu