MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Appalachian State sophomore Joliana Elias' (Jamestown, N.C.) even-par 36 highlighted a strong opening nine for the Mountaineers, who are tied for sixth following a team-299 (+11) in the opening round of the 2017 Sun Belt Women's Golf Championships on Monday at The Fighting Joe in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Elias is tied for ninth and six shots back of the leaders through the opening round. She opened with an even-par 36 on her opening nine and is 1-over (73) through the opening round. Texas State's Anne-Charlotte Mora (-5) has a two-shot lead over the field after her 67.
Texas State (-3) leads by two shots over Troy (-1) after the opening round. Little Rock (+3) is third, followed by Arkansas State (+8), Georgia State (+8), and App State (+11). The Mountaineers were even on their opening nine before giving a few shots back on their way in.
"Shooting 299 in the conference championship is the kind of number we were looking for today," App head coach Heather Brown said following the round. "We came out of the gate strong, then leveled off a little bit in the middle of the round but rallied to the end. It was a good team effort, and I'm proud of the girls for that. We'll go into tomorrow's round with the same game plan as today, to chip away with pars, keep ourselves grounded, and play hard (through the end of the round)."
Elias had two birdies and three birdies in her best college round to this point. Senior Hannah Craver (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and junior Savanna Wood (Boone, N.C.) are both tied for 19th after Monday's round. Craver was red-hot on her opening nine, moving to 4-under through six holes behind four birdies. Wood also had four birdies in her round, including three on her final four holes to build to Tuesday.
Senior Emily Stinson (Charlotte, N.C.) had two birdies and finished with a 76 (+4), while freshman Melany Chong (Missasauga, Ontario) was 1-over through 13 holes before a trio of late bogeys pushed her to a 76 (+4).
App State tees off on No. 1 on Tuesday beginning at 8 a.m. CT. The Mountaineers will play with Georgia State and Arkansas State.
-App State-
