RICHMOND, Va. -- The first 18 holes are in the books at the Max and Susan Stith Invitational, hosted by Randolph-Macon College at The Dominion Club just outside of Richmond and the Captains are currently in 11th place with a 37-over par 325 on day one. Getting a career-best performance from junior
Elena Rezac (+2), CNU Women's Golf finished out the opening round just nine strokes behind a top five showing.
The Captains were led by juniors
Elena Rezac (+2) and
Alex Delgado (+4) in the top-15 on the individual leaderboard. Rezac is tied for eighth at two-over par with a 74 and Delgado is just two strokes behind at four-over with a 76.
Rezac put together one of the finest rounds of her career with a career-low 74 on day one. With three birdies and ten pars, her round is tied for the third best individual round score of the 2023-24 season for Christopher Newport. She signed for her career low with birdies on two of her first three holes and another in the midst of an impressive streak that included nine straight holes at par or better. Rezac never climbed higher than two-over par on the day and was responsible for three of the six CNU birdies in the round. She is just three strokes off the pace set by Emory's Katie Park (-1) in the first round.
Delgado added a strong first half by making the turn at one-over par on Monday. She birdied the 490-yard par five 12th hole to momentarily share the lead with Rezac before adding another birdie on the 453-yard par five 18th hole. On her second nine, she recorded six pars and three bogeys to finish the round in 76 to tie for a spot in the top-15.
Katie Watson (+10) is also slotted into the top-50 on the leaderboard, tied for 47th. She sank a birdie three on the 272-yard par four 15th hole and finished the round with eight pars.
Rounding out the scoring for Christopher Newport on day one was
Hannah Willman (+21) and
Maggie Umphlet (+21) with matching 93's on the first day. Both Captains finished with six pars in the round including a run of three straight in her first five holes.
CNU will be back in action at The Dominion Club on Tuesday for the second round of the Stith Invitational. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.
