Panama City Beach, Fla. – Battling through a cold drizzle most of the day, the Western Carolina women's golf team closed Monday's opening round of the spring semester in a two-way tie for third place with a first-round score of 312 at the Lady Bison Classic at Bay Point presented by Under Armour. Senior Madison Isaacson paced the Catamounts in a tie for seventh after 18 holes with a 4-over par 76 at the par-72, 5,971-yard Bay Point Golf Club.
                        
Second-round play was halted late in the day on Monday due to darkness and will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Round three will start immediately following the completion of Round 2 with live scoring available online through GolfStat.
 
Tournament-host Lipscomb sat tied with Georgia State atop the team leaderboard after the opening 18 holes of the spring with matching scores of 310. WCU and  USC Upstate were tied for third at 312 with Jacksonville (316) rounding the top five. Fellow SoCon-members Wofford and Samford were knotted in a three-way tie for seventh with matching scores of 319.
 
Isaacson countered four bogeys and one double-bogey with a pair of birdies in the first round to shoot 4-over, 76. The Greensboro, N.C., native was 5-over through 17 holes before a birdie on the par-4 fifth moved her into the seventh-place tie.
 
Junior Victoria Ladd carded 13 pars with four bogeys and one double-bogey on Monday to sit in a tie for 15th after 18 holes with a 6-over par 76. Freshman Elizabeth Lohbauer and redshirt freshman Kayleigh Baker were three strokes back at 7-over par 79 in a tie for 21st overall. Lohbauer capped her first round of the spring with an eagle to accompany a birdie just four holes into the day, while Baker rallied with a pair of birdies over her final six holes.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five in the first round was sophomore Trinity Ahing in 62nd overall with an 85.
 
Wofford's Becca Earl led the 87-golfer field after 18 holes with a first-round, 1-over par 73 with four golfers tied for the runner-up position with 2-over par 74.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts, @catamountwgolf), and Twitter (@catamounts, @catamountwgolf).
 
 
T3 – Western Carolina – 312 (+24)
T7 – Madison Isaacson – 76 (+4)
T15 – Victoria Ladd – 76 (+4)
T21 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 79 (+7)
T21 – Kayleigh Baker – 79 (+7)
62 – Trinity Ahing – 85 (+13)