OXFORD, AL - Despite the misfortune of having one of their top scorers have to drop out prior to her round, the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's golf team is still sitting in fourth place in a field of ten teams after the opening round at the South District Preview being held at Cider Ridge Golf Club. 

Northwest is only six strokes back of Florida Gateway College at 58-over par through the first 18 holes, and just 15 strokes behind Jefferson State Community College in second place. Defending NJCAA Division II National Champion Shelton State Community College leads the way at 34-over. 

The Northwest team is being led by a familiar face in Elizabeth Kilpatrick, who started out the day with a nine-over of the front that included a pair of double bogeys, but was able to rebound with birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, playing the final eight holes to even par and finishing the day at just 12-over and in a tie for 13th place on the leaderboard. 

It puts her just one stroke out of a tie for 10th in the field and only three strokes out of a tie for third in a leaderboard that is very congested outside of first place, which is held by Emma Bark of Shelton State at just four-over par. 

Right behind her by just one stroke and in 15th place is Rylee Summerlin, who had a day that was the opposite of Kilpatrick. Summerlin got off to a good start, bounding back from bogeys on the first and second to finish the front at just four-over par. She also birdied the 11th hole, but only managed one more par on the way out and played the back nine to nine-over par on the way to a 13-over for herself. 

Graysa Enders saw a more consistent day on her way to the clubhouse, but a triple bogey on the third hole and an eight on the par four 11th would derail her momentum slightly on the way to a 15-over day and a spot in a tie for 18th on the leaderboard. 

The scoring team for the Rangers was closed out by sophomore Sarah Niblett, who finished the day at 18-over. She picked up a birdie on the par-five fourth, but only had pars on four other holes and, with six double-bogeys, finished the day in 27th place. 

The final Ranger in the field was Evalynn Ward, who played as an independent and closed her first 18 with a 36-over for a tie for 47th. 

Tee times are set to resume at 8 am on Tuesday morning, with Northwest being led off by Ward at 8:32. Niblett will get her day going at 9:28, followed by Enders at 9:36, Summerlin at 9:44, and closed by Kilpatrick playing in the final group of the day, teeing off at 9:52.