The Eastern women’s golf team finished 139-over-par, ranking last at the Northern Kentucky Fall Classic, the team’s first event of the season, on Tuesday.

Eastern finished three strokes behind 12th place Detroit Mercy and 115 strokes behind Cincinnati which won the event.

Senior Katlyn Hasprey said the team is ready to improve after the opener.

“Overall, we felt that we played pretty well and are excited for the rest of the season,” Hasprey said. “We all have certain areas we need to work on, and will use the next few weeks before our next tournament to practice the skills we need.”

Not all was bad for the Panthers, as senior Daphne Chang posted a 78-stroke final round to place in a tie for 18th, tying Eastern’s all-time women’s 54-hole record at 229.

Chang recorded three birdies throughout the course of her three rounds, double bogeying just once in the event on hole three in the third and final round.

Right behind Chang was freshman Monique Peterson with a final round 82 to finish tied for 61st.

Peterson failed to record a birdie in the event, but she made par at least three straight holes five separate times over 54 holes.

Hasprey ranked third on the team overall and posted a final score of 254 after going +11 in her final round.

Hasprey struggled on her starting hole in each of the three rounds of the tournament, shooting +7 overall, but she said her goal was simply to get into her element.

“Each day I started on some pretty difficult holes,” Hasprey said. “I generally get nervous playing the first hole of every tournament, and I’m not sure why. After I get past the first hole, I guess I just feel a little more comfortable and warmed up.”

Hasprey settled in after, though, shooting +1 her next seven holes in round three and hitting back-to-back birdies late in the second round.

Sophomore Mckenzie O’Brien rebounded after a rough +23 in her second round Monday to the tune of 87 strokes and a 76th place finish.

O’Brien’s second round Monday unfortunately punctuated her second round with a 10-stroke sextuple bogey on hole 13.

Sophomore Sara Guetersloh finished with 271 strokes in a tie for 79th place to round out the team.

Eastern Freshman Bailey Sharpmack also competed in the tournament as an individual and registered a 266-stroke total after a 91-stroke final round.

The Eastern women’s next tournament takes place Oct. 1 and 2 in the Austin Peay F&M Bank Intercollegiate at Clarksville Country Club in Tennessee.

Oscar Rzodkiewicz can be reached at 581-2812 or orrzodkiewicz@eiu.edu