Day one of the Iowa State women’s golf season returned on Sunday in Orlando, Florida, as the Cyclones participated in the UCF Challenge to start their spring season.

With new season optimism in the air, the first day of the challenge was not the blazing start the team was hoping for, but momentum and hope do fit into the description. Shooting a 291 as a team, the Cyclones currently sit in 11th place after day one.

Iowa State would have definitely taken a mulligan for the first nine of the opening round. With the exception of top golfer, Liyana Durisic, every golfer shot over par and struggled to find birdies. At the halfway point of the round, the Cyclones were a couple spots away from last place.

Durisic, the top player for the Cyclones, is off to a strong start to her 2021 season. Durisic was the silver lining to an otherwise turbulent day for Iowa State. Sinking four birdies and only bogeying once, Durisic tied for sixth place on the individual leaderboard after the opening day of play.

After the first nine that saw two double bogies, the Cyclones appeared to regather and rid themselves of the early season butterflies. For the second half of the round, every Cyclone golfer shot at least two strokes better than their first nine.

With the strong play of Durisic and the improvement from the other players throughout the day, the team will look to climb up the standings for day two.

Round two will be Monday.