FRANKLIN, TENN. - Texas A&M women's golf junior Mary Michael Maggio finished tied for second place with an-even par 72 in the first round Friday at the Mason Rudolph Fall Preview at Vanderbilt's Legends Club.
From Conway, Ark., Maggio trails the leader, Arizona State's Justine Lee (71), by just one stroke.
Maggio paced the 16th-ranked Aggie women's golf team to a tie for eighth place in the 18-team field, which includes the top teams in the nation.
Maggio began the day on the back nine and turned one-over with two birdies and three bogeys. She got one back with a birdie on the par five seventh hole to finish her round even.
"Maggio was really solid on the day," A&M head coach Trelle McCombs said. "I pulled her aside after her round and told her that I saw the swagger back in her step and that was really fun to watch."
Sophomore Katerina Ruzickova carded a 2-over 74 and is tied for 17th place. From Ostrava, Czech Republic, Ruzickova was up and down in her first nine holes with two birdies, a bogey and two doubles, making the turn plus three. She steadied the second nine and shot one-under.
Junior Susy Grunden is tied for 50th with a 5-over 77, junior Aly Smith scored an 8-over 80 and is tied for 75th, while sophomore Natalie Reeves shot an 82 (+10) and is tied for 84th.
"I'm really proud of the way they finished today," McCombs said. "It was a little damp this morning and the golf course was a little wet. The conditions were fine, it was just a little cool and we were in rain gear for a while. Still, the course played longer than it has in the past at this tournament.
"When you initially look at our score, it doesn't look very good, but we put ourselves in good position to finish well and we're headed in the right direction."
The Aggies finished the first round with a 15-over-par 303. No. 2 Southern California has the early lead after shooting a 4-over 292. Arizona State is one stroke back in second place with a 5-over 293. No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 Alabama and No. 15 Vanderbilt are in a tie for third with 296 (+8).
The Fall Preview continues Saturday beginning at 9:34 a.m. for the Aggies who will play the second round alongside Tennessee and Duke.
Live hole-by-hole scoring will be available on Golfstat.com. Also follow the Aggies throughout the day with updates on Twitter @Aggiewomensgolf.