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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Senior Pilar Martinez carded four birdies Monday to sit inside the top 25, leading the Harding Lady Bisons during the opening round of the NCAA Division II Central Regional at St. Joseph Country Club.
Harding, making its fourth consecutive regional appearance, finished the day in a tie for 17th place with Augustana (S.D.) after posting a team score of 44-over par 332. Rogers State and Henderson State share the early lead in the 18-team field at 21-over 309.
Martinez provided the highlight of the day for the Lady Bisons on the par-72, 5,966-yard course. Despite the challenging conditions—which saw an field scoring average of 80.94—Martinez fired a 7-over 79 to end the day in a tie for 24th place. She sits just five strokes back of a six-way tie for the individual lead at 2-over 74.
Sydney Kincade finished the round in a tie for 66th place after carding an 11-over 83. Vivian Volion and Madeleine Wilson are tied for 79th at 13-over 85, while Sidney Gainor is tied for 94th at 20-over 92.
The Lady Bisons will look to climb the leaderboard over the next 36 holes. The top five teams from the regional and the top two individuals not on an advancing team will qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Round 2 is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., with the final round set for Wednesday.