The UCF Challenge began on a sub-50 degree day with clear skies in Orlando, Florida, at the Eagle Creek Golf Club. The weather was near perfect for all 16 teams competing.

The Cyclones began the day a little slow, as there were a few green numbers on the scorecard early. As a team, they sat in last place early in the day. Uncharacteristically, sophomore Taglao Jeeravivitaporn began her first round with three bogeys on her first six holes. 

Alanna Campbell would do her best to pull the Cyclones out of their early hole. The junior started her round on fire, as she would birdie five of her first 13 holes. She was at a total of four under par early. Around noon, Iowa State had pulled itself out of its early hole and it sat at even par as a team. It was tied for fourth place with a lot of golf left to play. The Cyclones were five shots off the lead as Illinois led the competition at five-under-par through 16 holes.

As the day grew older, the Christie Martens coached Cyclones struggled to make up much ground on the leaderboard. Amelia Mehmet Grohn, Ruby Chou and Joy Chou would combine to shoot 17 over par for round one. The trio’s slow start to the tournament proved to be a tough obstacle for the Cyclones to overcome.

As a team, their up and down play continued as they would record two double bogeys and two triple bogeys which also prove to be costly down the stretch of day one.

Individually, Alana Campbell’s hot start to the tournament would continue for the most part. She looked like she was in for a solid day, finishing her round one at three-under-par, but then she was hit with a triple bogey on her final hole of the day.

After Campbell’s late-round hiccup, Liyana Durisic was the Cyclone who would finish highest on the individual leaderboard. The freshman sat tied for 11th on the day at one under par, as she is five shots off the leader heading into day two. 

The Cyclones as a team sit tied for eighth after round one, as they shot four over par. Heading into the second round of competition Martens’ team is 10 shots off of the leading team in Michigan State. The Spartans have a commanding lead on the rest of the field, as they’re five shots above the second place team.

Play kicks off at 8:45 a.m. Monday and each Cyclone will be paired with a player from North Carolina State and Oklahoma State for their second round of competition.