SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Biola sent a contingent of three women to San Diego's Riverwalk Golf Club on Monday afternoon to kick off the Super San Diego Invitational.
 
While Biola did not have a large enough squad to compete for the team championship, the Eagles each used the first round as a way to warm up for the rest of their spring season.
 
They each teed off from the back nine of the Mission/Presido course in the early morning. Conditions were cool and cloudy with a little bit of wind, which did not pick up until the final six holes of the day.
 
Jackie Mata led the team with a solid round of 81 (+9). This put her in a solid spot at 28^th place after day one. She, along with the other two players, made adjustments late in her round to improve her putting on the very fast greens. This culminated with all three Eagles getting birdie putts on hole 16.
 
"I was extremely impressed with our ladies today," said Women's Golf Coach Jane Carr. "This is our first round of the spring season and I can see the determination of all these athletes."
 
Amanda Hobbs and Jasmine Rodriguez joined Mata on the course and both shot 87s (+15) to fall into a tie fir 58^th place overall.
 
Marvi Monsalve of California Baptist is tied with golfers out of Point Loma, the host school, and Lee University. All three stuck very close to par on the difficult course, ending with 74s (+3). Point Loma had three players fall inside of the top 10 to sit in first place halfway through the tournament.
 
The Eagles return to the course tomorrow morning, with a chance to continue their strong play as the tournament concludes. Carr hopes to see more of the determination she witnessed today.
 
"I was very proud of their demeanor on the course today," said Carr. "They stayed patient, calm and steady out there. They were hitting the ball solid, and were getting up and down so many times on a tough course."