Monday, April 11, 2011

DeLAND, Fla. – Kennesaw State posted four of the top 12 lowest scores to lead by three strokes after the first round of the 2011 Atlantic Sun Women's Golf Championship.

Sophomore Ket Preamchuen led the way for the Owls as she carded one of the day's four sub-par rounds, a 1-under-par, 71 to share second place. Mercer's Kimmy Graff leads the field of 50 after shooting a 2-under-par, 70 with five birdies.

The Owls, runners-up a year ago, started slowly as the four scoring members of the team played the front nine Victoria Hills Golf Club in a combined 5-over par. They steadied themselves on the closing nine holes as all four shot equal or improved upon their front-nine score to close at 6-over-par 294 – tying the conference’s lowest first-round score ever. FGCU shot a 294 the open last year’s event.

Campbell heads up a quartet of those in close pursuit of the Kennesaw State lead. The Camels, who spent some time on Monday leading the competition, ended the day three shots behind. ETSU and the two-time defending champion Stetson Hatters carded matching 10-over par 298s and Mercer, paced by Graff, shot 12-over 300, the Bears’ best-ever round at an A-Sun Championship.

Graff’s 2-under-par 70 set a Mercer A-Sun Championship low score, topping, by one stroke, a 1-under-par 71 recorded by Monica Kelsey in the final round last year. In addition to Preamchuen, Campbell’s Michelle Koh and Stetson’s Alexandria Buelow all broke par on Monday with 1-under-71s.

Round two begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday with teams from USC Upstate and Lipscomb first off the No. 1 tee. Follow all the action at Golfstat.com.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.