RIO VERDE, Ariz. - Seniors Breanne Nuefeld (Coaldale, Alberta/Kate Andrews) and Caitlin Deeken (California, Mo./California) both shot 79's to lead the Bradley women's golf team during the opening day at the Rio Verde Invitational Friday. The Braves are tied with Ball State for 13th after 18 holes at the Rio Verde Country Club's par-72 White Wing Course.
Neufeld and Deeken are tied for 29th in the field of 90 competitors after both shot seven-over par 79's on the first day of play. Junior Kelly Amundrud (Calgary, Alberta/Strathcona Tweedsmuir) had a streak of 24 consecutive rounds in the 70's come to an end after carding an 80 Friday and heads into Saturday's second round tied for 41st.z
Sophomore Natalie Wisniewski (Williamsville, N.Y./South) turned in an 85 and is tied for 76th, while junior Erin Gorman (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) is tied for 82nd after shooting an 87 in the first round.
Eastern Michigan holds the top spot on the team leaderboard at six-over par 294. Michigan finished the day second in the team standings at 300 with Penn State following in third at 306. Northern Arizona is three shots behind in fourth at 309 and Cincinnati rounds out the top five in the field of 17 teams at 312. Toledo ended the day in sixth (313), while Missouri State is one shot back in seventh (314).
Tournament-host Western Michigan is eighth overall at 315 and is followed by Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Akron, who finished the day tied for ninth at 316. Southern Illinois is two shots behind in 11th at 318 and the Salukis are followed by 48th-ranked Arkansas-Little Rock (12th - 319). Bradley and Ball State are four back of the Trojans in a tie for 13th at 323 and both have a three-shot edge on 15th-place Xavier (326). Bowling Green is 16th at 337 with Ohio rounding out the field in 17th at 344.
Bradley continues play at the Rio Verde Invitational Saturday with one round of play beginning at 9 a.m. (CST). Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com
