PEORIA, Ariz. -- Playing in Arizona for the first time in program history, the Christopher Newport women's golf team took on a talented field at the Westbrook Village Invitational in Peoria on Saturday and currently sits in ninth place after the first round of play. The Captains fired a 32-over par 316 in the opening round and were led by senior Elena Rezac with a five-over 76 to appear in the top-20 on the individual leaderboard. 

Rezac started on the tenth hole and recorded seven pars on the back nine before making the turn and continuing her par streak with two more to start the front. In total, she sank nine pars in ten holes and was just two-over through 11. The veteran dropped in four more pars in her round for a team-high 13 in Sunday's first round of action. With the +5 showing, she is currently in 18th place overall. 

The rest of the starting group were not far behind as rookie Ayla Browning (+8), Katie Watson (+9), and Alex Delgado (+10) rounded out the scoring. Hannah Willman added a 14-over 85 as well while three more players saw action as individuals in the tournament: Taylor Davis (+9), Julia Pelletier (+10), and Maggie Umphlet (+30). 

Browning scored a birdie on the 337-yard par four 16th hole to highlight a consistent scoring effort. She had six pars on the front and four more on the back nine. Watson was just one stroke behind Browning and also had a birdie, with hers coming on the 332-yard par four 13th. Even through four holes, Watson made the turn at four-over and added four pars on the front to sign for an 80. 

Davis matched Watson with a nine-over 80 and recorded 11 pars in her round. The duo at 10-over was Alex Delgado and Julia Pelletier; Delgado had 10 pars and Pelletier added 11. 

Christopher Newport will return to the Par 71 course on Sunday to wrap up the 36-hole event at the Westbrook Village GC. Host and sixth-ranked George Fox leads the field with a 285 with top-ranked Emory just five strokes back of the pace. Live scoring is available online with the link at CNUsports.com.