KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman Taylor Newlin's one-over-par 73 led the way for the UTSA women's golf team on Friday, as it finished the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships in 13th place with a 305.
The Frisco native found herself at two-over-par through 14 holes before birdies on the 15th and 17th holes brought her to even-par. A bogey on the final hole put Newlin in a tie for 12th to finish the day.
Just one stroke behind her was sophomore Paola Valerio, who fired a two-over 74. Valerio shot even par through the first five holes before bogeys on the sixth, eighth and 15th holes and a birdie on No. 17 brought her to a tie for 24th.
Junior Summer Batiste made her 2010 debut with a five-over-par 77 to finish the day tied for 48th. She was the third Roadrunner to birdie No. 17 and she also recorded a birdie on No. 10.
Freshmen Fabiola Arriaga (81) and Chelsea Bretcher (83) rounded out the scoring in 72nd and a 83rd place, respectively.
The Roadrunners sit just one stroke out of the top 10 behind Georgia State, East Tennessee State and Coastal Carolina, who each finished the day at 304.
Tournament host Tennesssee leads the field with an eight-under-par 280, a tournament record, while the Lady Vols' Erica Popson tops the leaderboard with a 67. The top six teams all rank in the top 35 of the golfstat.com poll.
The second round is scheduled for Saturday morning.
