WINTERGREEN, Va. - After a spring season of competitive scoring, the Bridgewater College women's golf team opened the ODAC Championship on Monday with a score of 345, their highest of the season. They were paced by senior Evelyn Hunter, who has emerged as a leader in her final semester of college golf. One-third of the way through the conference Championship, the Eagles sit in 6th place.
 
"We have only finished outside the top-3 in the championship once in the thirteen years of the conference, and never below 4th," said head coach John Rogers, "so today was definitely not the start we were looking for. We have dug a bit of a hole, but thanks to one of Evelyn's better collegiate rounds, we are still within reach of several teams."
 
Hunter, who rarely saw the starting lineup before this semester, seems to be constantly scoring lower in recent tournaments. Coming into the season, her career average was 93, but she has shaved more than six strokes from that number this season, and continues to trend for the better. Today she made the turn in 39 strokes, and despite a pair of double-bogies on the back nine, she posted an impressive 82. After the third best score of her career, she is tied for 13th place.
 
Fellow senior Sophia Martone, averaging 76 this season, was unexpectedly +5 through six holes on Monday. She was unaccustomed to seeing cuts from the tee box, and she chunked a few iron shots, but she kept scrambling and played the final ten holes at just +4. Her 82 has her tied at 13th with Hunter.
 
Hannah Rizzo also had an uncharacteristic day. Averaging 79.9 in a breakout season, she was +8 through eight holes today and she had five double-bogies. Her total of 89 was the highest number of her college career, and she found it frustrating because Stoney Creek at Wintergreen is the same course where she tied for medalist honors in the fall. She and Martone, the Eagles' team leaders, both headed to the practice area immediately after the round to prepare for the second round.
 
Freshman Brooke Tyler came out hot in her first ODAC Championship. She birdied the opening par-5 hole and then added another red number on the third hole. The rest of her round was plagued by larger numbers, though, and she came in with a 92 to round out the team score for Bridgewater.
 
Junior Emily Price likewise had trouble avoiding numbers higher than bogey, but she had a four-hole stretch in the middle of the round where she was just +1, including a birdie on the 12th, which had a devilish pin location.
 
"On paper we are the #4 seed this week," noted Rogers, "so hopefully we will move in that direction tomorrow. We just have to play the kind of golf we have played all year, and we should move forward."
 
Washington & Lee (#15 in the nation) has won the last six ODAC Championships and they have a slim lead over Randolph Macon after the first round.
 
The Eagles return to the course at 9:40 AM on Tuesday.