RIO VERDE, Ariz. – Western Michigan graduate student Alissa Fish sits tied for eighth place after the opening round of the annual Rio Verde Invitational, hosted by WMU Golf, on Friday.
Fish shot a 71 (-1) and sits just one stroke out of the top five and four off the lead. The Clarklake, Mich., native tied for the team-high four birdies in the round to go along with 12 pars. Fellow graduate student Natalie Samdal also had four birdies on the day and had 10 pars to eventually finish with a 72, shooting even par and sitting tied for 15th.
Sophomores Kailey White and Megha Vallabhaneni are within a stroke of each other, with White shooting a 79 and Vallabhaneni shooting an 80. WMU's Jenna Hayes shot an 82 to round out WMU's top five. The Broncos also fielded a "B" team, with Bella Brooks and Maddy Blum both shooting 82's and Macy Beason shooting an 83. Ally Barth shot an 88 on the day, as well.
As a team, the Broncos shot a 305 (+17) and are in a three-way tie for 14th with Evansville and Bowling Green. The Broncos are just six shots outside of the top 10.
WMU is back at it on Saturday for round two.
