TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Coastal Carolina University women's golf team opened play at the Florida State Match-up by shooting a five-over 293 in the first 18 holes played Thursday at the Seminole Legacy Golf Course in Tallahassee, Fla., and finished the opening day in third place.
 
It was a tale of two nines as the Chants played the first nine holes in two-under fashion, but could not maintain that momentum over the final nine holes, shooting a seven-over to finish with the five-over score.
 
The Chants had two players finish among the top-10 in the opening round led by freshman Nicole Abelar who started the day with a double-bogey six on the first hole of the day. She fought back from that opening hole with four birdies on her way to finishing with a one-under 71 (36-35). She is third after the first 18 holes.
 
Sophia Carlsen was coming off her best performance of her short career with her three-over 219 at the Moon Golf Invite two weeks ago and she continued her strong start to the spring with an even-par 72 (34-38) in today's opening round. She will head into day two tied for sixth.
 
Caitlin Evans-Brand had a solid 74 (36-38) in today's action. She had runs of five consecutive pars on the opening nine holes and seven consecutive pars on the back nine to go into tomorrow's second round tied for 17th.
 
Heidrun Hlynsdottir also had a strong start with a one-under score after the first five holes, but had trouble maintaining that start and finished with five bogeys and a four-over 76 (37-39). She is tied for 26th moving into the second day of action.
 
Junior Tiffany Arafi also had an up-and-down round as she opened the day with an even-par 36 on the front nine. The back nine gave her some problems shooting a four-over on the final nine holes to finish the day with a four-over 76 (36-40). She is even with teammate Hlynsdottir for 26th after day one of action.
 
Host and 11th-ranked Florida State leads the action after the first day shooting a six-under 282, just two strokes ahead of 14th-ranked Kent State's four-under 284.
 
Behind CCU to round out the top-five are Ohio State and Michigan. Both teams finished with a 12-over 300.
 
Tomorrow's second round of action gets underway at 8 a.m. ET. Live scoring can be found at www.GoCCUsports.com.
 
For complete coverage of CCU women's golf, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWGolf (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.