WAIMEA, Hawaii --- Three Eagles tallied a 72 on their scorecard to help the BU squad post a round of 293 on the day. The incredible team total put Biola at the top of the leaderboard, while matching the program-best score for a single round. 

Head coach Jane Carr was proud of the way her team played, "Stellar performance by our entire team today.  They were extremely focused and played very strategically all day."

The impressive round got the Biola Eagles off to four-stroke lead over second place at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate on Monday. The three-day tournament is set in Waimea, Hawaii at the Hapuna Golf Course.

"This is not an easy course," added Carr. "The course rating is 137 and the average scratch golfer shoots a 76.2 which makes what we accomplished today even more significant. Three even par rounds in 15-20 mph winds is really unbelievable and the fact that those scores came from two freshmen and a sophomore just shows the talent we have on this team."

Melanie Reyes, Rachel Shaw and Brady Turnquist were on fire in the opening round of the tournament. The trio mirrored each other on the scorecard with 72 strokes, as the three Eagles sat next to each other at the top of the individual leaderboard. Shaw was consistent throughout the day, posting 14 pars and two birdies. The even day marked the best score for Shaw since the opening competition of 2021.

Reyes came through with an impressive back nine to help her go even on Monday. The freshman birdied both par threes, while nabbing back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16. The strong day was the best round of the season for the freshman.

Turnquist continued her strong play of 2021 in the opening round of the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate. The sophomore notched a score of 36 in the front nine and back nine, accumulating four birdies. Turnquist showed great composure on the course, logging two of those birdies immediately following a bogey.

The fourth scorer for the Eagles was Sami Penor with a 77 on the day. Penor was unfazed on the back half of the course, parring holes 10-18. The senior fought hard for a T22 placement on the individual leaderboard.

Rounding out the scorers for Biola was Lauren Lee in a tie for 34th place. The freshman fought through a tough hole number two to notch a birdie on hole number three. As a common theme on the day, Lee found her groove on the back nine with seven pars and a birdie.

Mary Grace Davidson competed as an individual for Biola and turned in a scorecard of 80 total strokes.  Davidson ranked 36th on the individual leaderboard, while parring 12 holes on Monday.

"This is a very special team," said Carr. "They enjoy each other's company, they laugh and joke around a lot off the course, and they really want to do well for each other.  They know the importance of every shot and everyone is out there grinding."

Biola will look to maintain its lead in round two on Tuesday, which is set to begin at 12:30 pm PST.