The season debut for the ISU women’s golf team at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational started out about as poorly as possible, though the end result was not as bleak as the beginning.

After a 23-over-par first round of 315, the Cyclones found themselves in last place out of 16 teams.

All five starters failed to break par and the team’s upperclassman leaders, Chonlada “Koy” Chayanun and Cajsa Persson, combined for a 13-over-par opening round.

As the nerves began to settle during the final two rounds for the Cyclones, they were able to ascend the leader board in the final 36 holes to climb five spots up to finish in 11th place.

“[It was] probably a confidence thing. I think everyone felt more comfortable,” said ISU assistant coach Pina Gentile, who led the team in place of head coach Christie Martens, who is on maternity leave. “Once getting to round two, for some of our freshmen, the nerves settled and they felt better being on the golf course.”

While Chayanun, a four-year starter, may not have had the same nerves as her younger teammates, it was her first competitive tournament since recovering from tendinitis in her wrist over the summer.

After shaking off some of the rust from her opening round, she showed signs of her strong play that led to top-10 finishes at the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Championship last season.

Chayanun said she felt no pain and expressed confidence in her swing. Instead, she attributed her slow start to her comfort on the course.

“The first round, I didn’t know why, I couldn’t make a decision of which club I was going to use,” Chayanun said. “I couldn’t figure out the green speed, [I’d] putt it short. That was the problem for the first day. I couldn’t make the right decisions.”

Playing more by feel in the final two rounds, Chayanun’s simplistic approach led to a five-under-par total in her final 36 holes, including a bogey-free final round of 69. Chayanun finished with a three-over-par total of 222, good for a tie for 19th place.

Her teammate, freshman Celia Barquin, also finished in 19th place, but did so in a more consistent manner.

With rounds of 74, 76 and 72, Barquin and junior Cajsa Persson were the only two Cyclones to avoid a round in the 80s.

“It was a good week for me — not the best one, but the result was not really too bad,” Barquin said. “I was really good from the tee to the green, but I was not as good as usual with the putter. Even with that, I think for my first tournament it was a good one. I’m happy with it.”

The remaining three ISU starters — Persson, freshmen Nattapan “New” Siritrai and M.J. Kamin — also showed improvement as the tournament progressed but were unable to post a low round that would help them climb up the leader board like Barquin and Chayanun did.

“I think it’s probably different for everybody,” Gentile said of improvements the team needs to make. “That’s the thing about golf, there’s so many facets, so for each person they have their own individual thing they need to work on. The nice part is that we’ve got a little bit over two weeks before we head off to our next event, so we can tailor practices toward what everybody’s needs are.”

The ISU women’s golf team will next compete Oct. 6 and 7 at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Wilmette, Ill.