BUCKEYE, Ariz. --- Biola Women's Golf got off to a strong start to the 2015-16 season on Monday morning, finishing round one in second place at the Arizona Christian Firestorm Fall Invitational.
 
The tournament is a 36-hole tournament played at Verrado Golf Club in Buckeye, Arizona. The first round was played on the Desert Course, which featured 10-15 mile-per-hour winds and 100-degree temperatures.
 
The Eagles posted a team score of 326, which places them just five strokes behind Arizona Christian with 18 holes left to be played on Tuesday. Freshman Mychaela Graf led the way for Biola by carding a 75 to lead the team and the field of 32 golfers.
 
Graf bogeyed the first hole but then she got on a roll for the rest of the round shooting 12 pars and two birdies in the early morning.
 
"Her demeanor on the course is so calm and steady," said Head Coach Jane Carr. "You never know if she is playing well or playing bad. She is a true contender. She's fun to watch."
 
The host school, Arizona Christian, had three players inside of the top-5 to finish with a 321 to pace the pack. Biola had four of its five players inside of the top-15 to help it keep pace.
 
After Graf was Lauren Van Horn who finished with an 82 and tied for seventh overall, which is five strokes better than her season-best during her freshman year in 2014-15.
 
Van Horn made the travel team for this tournament by way of a coaches pick and began the tournament as the No. 5 player. Finishing the day as No. 2 was definitely a highlight from the first day.
 
"We call Lauren 'Bam, Bam' for a reason," said Carr. "She has so much power in her swing. Today it all came together for her. She was striking the ball so well and sinking putts. She had two birdies and played steady."
 
Sarah Paravia tied for 12^th with an 84 followed by Jasmine Rodriguez tied for 13^th with an 85. The final of Biola's scorers was the Eagles' other freshman, Mary Karnazes, who posted an 87 to place 19^th overall.

Each of those final three scorers had a difficult start to their round before finishing relatively strong, which bodes well for the final round performance tomorrow.
 
Tomorrow's round two begins with a shotgun start at 8:00 a.m.