Pikunas Paces Zips in Top 10 of Rio Verde after Round One

Friday, February 21

QUAIL RUN COURSE | RIO VERDE, AZ

18 Holes

University of Akron

Rio Verde Invitational

Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi

Pikunas Paces Zips in Top 10 of Rio Verde after Round One

February 22 | Women's Golf

Follow Zips Women's Golf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | Follow Coach King on Twitter

GolfStat Live Scoring | Pairings: RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | Leaderboard: Team | Player | Team/Player

Rio Verde, Ariz. – Sophomore Jacinta Pikunas (Youngstown, Ohio) fired a 1-over par 73 to open the Rio Verde Invitational on Friday at at the Rio Verde Country Club's White Wing Golf Course, a par-72 that stretches 6,242 yards.

Pikunas currently tied for seventh on the individual leaderboard while leading the Zips (309, +21) to a ninth-place standing among 18 teams. Pikunaks carded 13 par scores, two birdies and three bogeys in the 1-over effort. She opened the 54-hole event with three consecutive par scores and completed the first nine holes at plus-one. During the second half of the round, Pikunas registered two birdies, but ultimately finished even for the 1-over performance.

Sophomore Ivana Shah (Mumbai, India) followed in scoring for the Zips. Shah registered a 76 (+4) total, which currently ranks 24^th overall in the individual race. She was 5-over after nine holes and cut one stroke off her score with a birdie on the 495-yard, par-5 fourth hole.

Freshmen Jennifer David (Hudson, Ohio), Riley Dean (Lewis Center, Ohio) and Jessica Hahn (Canton, Ohio) rounded out the Akron's first-round efforts with 79 (+7), 81 (+9) and 83 (+11) tallies, respectively.

Xavier is leading the team race after 18 holes of play with a 297 (+9) team total. The Musketeers Morgan Tinsley shot even-par, while Arkansas State's Grayson Gladden and Seton Hall's Elizabeth Win entered 1-under par 71 scores to lead the individual scoring. Arkansas State is two strokes behind Xavier with a 299 (+11) first-round total.

Akron will be back in action at 11:30 a.m. ET. The field is set for a shotgun start as the Zips are slated to start on holes 6-8.

9 Akron 309 (+21)
T7 Jacinta Pikunas 73 (+1)
T24 Ivana Shah 76 (+4)
T47 Jennifer David 79 (+7)
T66 Riley Dean 81 (+9)
T79 Jessica Hahn 83 (+11)

Top 5 Teams
1 Xavier 297 (+9)
2 Arkansas State 299 (+11)
3 Northern Illinois 302 (+14)
4 Ball State 305 (+17 )
5 Seton Hall 306(+18)

Top 5 Players
T1 Grayson Gladden Arkansas State 71 (-1)
T1 Elizabeth Win Seton Hall 71 (-1)
T3 Morgan Savage Illinois State 72 (E)
T3 Jasmine Chee Western Michigan 72 (E)
T3 Morgan Tinsley Xavier 72 (E)
T3 Taylor Koch Boise State 72 (E)