The No. 5 ranked Emory women's golf team competed in the first of three rounds in the Columbia Classic on Saturday afternoon. The event was played at the Duran Golf Club's Par 72, 6,303-yard course in Melbourne, Florida. The competition features 15 NCAA Division I opponents including Old Dominion, Dartmouth, Kennesaw State, Penn State, Yale, Richmond, Eastern Kentucky, Youngstown State, James Madison, Columbia, Seton Hall, Cal State Fullerton, Albany, St John's, and Princeton.

Competing against a field comprised of all Division I opponents, the Eagles finished the day shooting a 319 (+31) as a team to find themselves in 16^th place.

Leading the way for the team score was freshman Carys Code after she shot a 78 (+6) on day one. Code avoided any disastrous holes, keeping herself from recording any scores worse than a bogey. However, four bogeys on the front nine and three more on the back diminished her score a bit. Code picked up a birdy on hole 15, a Par 5. The freshman finds herself tied for 53^rd heading into day two.

Junior Ellen Dong led the Eagles in birdies on the day, notching four, all coming on the front nine of the course. Dong finished the day with a score of 79 (+7) sitting tied for 63^rd entering day two. Dong's four birdies puts her tied for sixth in the competition for the most birdies of any golfer on day one. The junior shot two over par on the front and five over on the back nine.

A trio of Eagles rounded out the day for Emory, with senior Mariana Chong, freshman Derica Chiu, and freshman Esther Jung all shooting an 81 (+9). Chong and Chiu both recorded one birdy each. The three all find themselves tied for 74^th heading into Sunday.

Sophomore Cindy Wang, who competed as an individual, was Emory's top performer in round one, shooting a 77 (+5). The sophomore stayed consistent, notching nine pars and three birdies on the day. Wang bounced back from a couple of double bogeys in her round to finish even on holes 13 through 18. Wang will start Sunday tied for 40^th on the individual leaderboard.

The Eagles are 30 strokes off the leader, Old Dominion, heading into Sunday's round. Emory will be back on the course in Melbourne, Florida tomorrow morning for the second of three rounds at the Columbia Classic.