New Smyrna Beach, Fla. - Windy conditions led to a struggle to score for the Stetson women's golf team during the first round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships on Monday at Venetian Bay Golf Club.  The Hatters posted a disappointing 306 team score (+18) and are in seventh place out of 10 squads, 12 shots behind surprise leader Florida Gulf Coast.  Freshman Alexandria Buelow (Palm City, Fla.) fired an even par 72 and is tied for second place individually, three strokes off the lead.

Sophomore Lauren Cate (St. Augustine, Fla.) posted a solid round for the defending A-Sun champion Hatters, shooting three over par 75 to put herself in a tie for 12^th place after 18 holes.  Cate placed second at the 2009 championships at Victoria Hills GC in DeLand.  Seniors Danielle Jackson (Seminole, Fla.) and Lauren Darnell (Gainesville, Ga.) shot 79 and 80, respectively, for the team's final two counting scores with freshman Anna Hancock (Lakeland, Fla.) coming in right behind them with an 81.

ETSU's Laura Jansone, the 2008 A-Sun Tournament champion, was the only player in the 50-golfer field to break par in the first round; her three under par 69 leaves her three shots clear of a five-way tie for second that includes Buelow, Briana Carlson (FGCU), Jordan Lazenby (Kennesaw State), Katerina Toomalatai (FGCU) and Francesca Yong (Jacksonville).

Florida Gulf Coast shot six over par 294 on Monday, led by Carlson and Toomalatai, to take a one-stroke lead over ETSU into Round 2.  Kennesaw State is third at +11 with Campbell (+13), Jacksonville (+17) and Mercer (+17) also ahead of the Hatters.  Rounding out the field are Belmont (+30), USC Upstate (+32) and Lipscomb (+64).

Stetson players tee off tomorrow in pairings with Belmont starting at 8:40 a.m.  Live scoring for the A-Sun Championships is available here: http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/team/static/team_players_1932.html