BRANSON, Mo.— The defending champion South Dakota women's golf team sits in third place in a thirteen-team field after the first round of the Ozarks Invitational in Branson, Missouri.  The golfers battled in cold, windy conditions for the duration of the day.  
 
All seven Coyotes on the roster are competing in this event, five on the official team lineup and two as individuals.  It was one of the individuals, Ava Schroeder, who paced the Coyote golfers on this day.  Schroeder knocked in a birdie on the 8^th hole and was able to play consistent golf while battling the elements.  She finished with a score of 78, good for 6-over par and a tie for fourth place.
 
Ella Greenberg finished with a score of 7-over par 79, good for a tie for 12^th place.  She finished the day with a birdie on her final hole, one of four she tallied on the afternoon.  A pair of Coyotes, Emma Henningsson and Lara Gehring, were a stroke behind her at 8-over par 80.  They finished tied for 18^th place.  Henningsson was consistent with all pars and bogies throughout the round.  Gehring scored two birides.
 
Catie Nekola was the next Coyote in the clubhouse.  She finished with a 12-over par 84, good for a tie for 41^st place.  Playing as an individual, Avery O'Donnell scored a 13-over par 85, good for a tie for 47^th place. Alexa Wingnean finished tied for 69^th with a 21-over par 93.
 
The Coyotes finished with a team score of 35-over par 323, good for third place in the thirteen-team field.  Oral Roberts leads the team race at 15-over par, while the Golden Eagles' Christina Riu leads the individual race at 3-under par.  She was the only golfer to finish at or below par on the day.
 
The Ozarks National Invitational was originally scheduled as a three-day, three-round event.  Round one was postponed from Monday until today due to rain.  The teams planned to play two rounds today to make up for the lost round on Monday, but cold temperatures forced them to end the day after just one round.  As a result, the event has been changed to a two-round tournament, the second and final round to be played tomorrow.  Tee time will be 9am.  You can follow live results here.