PHOENIX, Ariz. --- Battling high temperatures and a strong field, the Biola Women's Golf team got off to a rocky start to the 2010-11 season, placing 18th at the Grand Canyon University Women's Fall Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Coldwater Golf Club in Phoenix.

Biola placed 18th in the 18 team field with a team score of 804 in the first official team tournament in program history. Despite fielding women's golf for the last three years, the Eagles have never had the minimum four golfers required for a team.

The tournament featured 11 NCAA Division II teams and seven NAIA schools. Western Washington University and Western New Mexico University shared team honors with a 15-over-par 591. Cal Baptist's Adriana Niclotti won the event, firing a three-under-par 141.

Junior Whitney Hobbs led Biola with a 175 (87-88) in her first competition since injuring her knee at the end of last season. She placed 79th overall. Joining her were freshman Claire Prentice (101-88=189), Beth Williams (114-105=219) and Megan Anderson (113-108=221). 

The Eagles take a bit of a break before returning to the course for a busy five day stretch of golf in mid-October. Biola travels to Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains, Ore., for the Culturame Classic Women's Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 15-16, then heads south to Monterey, Calif., to play the Black Horse at the CSU Monterey Bay Lady Otter Invitational.