First-Round Results
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Missouri State sophomore Rachel Johnson sits firmly in the individual top 20, and the Bears are in 15^th place after Monday's first 18 holes of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Regional here.
 
Johnson fired an opening-round 76 to sit in a tie for 20^th after the first of three rounds. Junior Verena Gimmy also turned in a solid first day with a seven-over 79 to rank in a tie for 43^rd.
 
After an opening-round 324, the Bears sit in 15^th place, which puts the Missouri Valley Conference champions ahead of Kentucky (326), Old Dominion (327) and Cleveland State (340) in the 18-team regional. The regional's top four spots are currently held by Florida (297), Florida State (299), Purdue (302) and host Ohio State (302).
 
"We played through some really tough conditions today on a difficult golf course," said MSU head coach Kevin Kane. "We kept on grinding, and I'm really proud of Rachel (Johnson) and Verena (Gimmy) for posting good scores today. It's not the start we envisioned, but there's lots more golf to go, and we'll just keep working to move up."
 
MSU's other competitors Monday finished with scores in the 80's on the par-72, 6,416-yard layout at Ohio State's Scarlet Course. Stine Pettersen (84), Ashley Childers (85) and Caroline Boone (88) will look to improve on their opening-round scores on Tuesday morning when round two gets underway for the Bears at 8:24 a.m.
 
MSU will be paired with 13^th-place Delaware and 14^th-place Houston on Tuesday.
 
The top six teams and next three individuals not on a qualifying team will advance from each of the four regionals to the 2017 NCAA Championship, May 19-24 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
   
 
Team Standings (through 18 of 54 holes)
1. Florida (297)
2. Florida State (299)
3. Purdue (302)
3. Ohio State (302)
5. Texas A&M (308)
6. Arkansas (309)
6. South Carolina (309)
8. San Jose State (310)
9. Michigan (312)
10. Colorado (313)
11. Louisville (314)
11. Wisconsin (314)
13. Delaware (320)
14. Houston (323)
15. Missouri State (324)
16. Kentucky (326)
17. Old Dominion (327)
18. Cleveland State (340)