The ISU women’s golf team participated in its first tournament of the year on Tuesday at Glen Oaks Country Club in Des Moines.

The Big Three Championship was actually a dual between Northern Iowa and Iowa State. The University of Iowa was scheduled to participate but canceled about a week prior to the match. Iowa State won the tournament 610-626.

There were 16 golfers competing in the Big Three Championship, and the top three spots went to Iowa State. Freshman Christi Athas helped carry the team to victory in her first tournament at the collegiate level, said head coach Julie Manning.

Athas shot a 74 in the first round and a 77 in the second to capture the individual tournament title. Athas is one of only two players who are new to the team. Par on the Glen Oaks course is 71.

“The team has a lot of depth and experience,” Manning said.

With six players returning, the expectations for success this season are high, she said.

First on the list of returning shooters is Louise Kenney. Kenney shot a 77-75 for 10-over-par 152 in two rounds for the Cyclones. Last season, she set a school record with her scoring average of 76.1, nearly a shot ahead of the previous mark.

Kenney also set a 54-hole tournament record by shooting a 218 at the Mountain View Collegiate and was the first female golfer in Cyclone history to be invited to play in the NCAA Eastern Regionals as an individual.

Junior redshirt Lisa Meshke tied her teammate by slating a 152 (80-72) at the tournament. Meshke finished 16th with a season-best 231 at the Big 12 Championship in 2002.

Pulling down sixth place for the tournament with an 18-over-par score of 160 (83-77) was junior Claire Stephanson. Rounding out the field for the Cyclones were freshman Stephanie Nelson (84-77-161), redshirt senior Leanne Owens (83-84-167), junior Cindy Whitmore (78-91-167) and sophomore Erica Dahl (85-85-170).

Whitmore said she started well on Tuesday, but didn’t finish as well as she had hoped. Whitmore shot a 78-91.

“You just have to take it in stride,” she said. Whitmore is looking to better the records she set last season, including the record for best average score, Manning said. Whitmore was not discouraged by her second round score.

“It’s golf — bad scores happen,” she said.

With the Big Three Championship behind it, the ISU women’s golf team is looking ahead to the first out-of-state tournament of the year this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.