NEW ORLEANS – Battling winter conditions throughout play, Rutgers women's golf closed out the first day of the Tulane Classic on Sunday in New Orleans. Sophomore
Rikke Nordvik (T/11th) and junior
Leigha Devine (T/17th) both sit in the top-20 of the 93-player field to lead the Scarlet Knights.
With temperatures in the low to mid-40s and wind gusts up to 20-miles-per-hour, the Scarlet Knights are 12th in the 17-team field. North Texas leads the field with its 12-over-par 300, followed by No. 10 Michigan (+20) and UTSA (+23). Texas State's Marine Griffaut is atop the individual leaderboard with her one-under-par 71.
"Conditions were challenging today on a difficult golf course," said head coach
Kari Williams. "The wind tested our team in every aspect of their games. Rikke and Leigha did well managing their play around the course. We need to come out tomorrow ready to perform better."
Nordvik produced a five-over-par 77 and rolled in 13 pars despite the challenges presented by the weather. Devine produced a team-best four birdies on holes four, 14, 16 and 18.
"I was able to capitalize on a few birdie opportunities and rolled in a couple of nice putts today as I just tried to stay patient through some missed shots," Devine said. "The wind and cold were tough for us, but we all learned a lot about our games today. We're ready to come out and compete tomorrow in round two."
Rookie
Lucrezia Rossettin (+13), senior
Maeve Rossi (+15) and junior
Sun Hwang (+22) rounded out the team scorecard on Sunday.
Round two begins tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET.
Round One Results - Tulane Classic