BRYAN, Texas — UTSA sophomore Daniela Abonce and senior Camryn Carreon opened play in the NCAA Bryan Regional on Monday at Traditions Club (par 72/6,376 yards).
Abonce carded a 4-over-par 76 and Carreon posted a 77 as the two Roadrunners are tied for 39th and 46th, respectively, with 36 holes left to play over the next two days.
Starting on No. 10, Abonce followed a par with a birdie on the 158-yard, par-3 11th hole to get to 1-under par for the day. The 2024 American Athletic Conference Champion had to settle for a double bogey on the next hole and two more bogeys sprinkled around four pars en route to a 39 on the back nine.
A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Abonce bounced back from a bogey on No. 1 with birdies on the 391-yard, par-4 third and 511-yard, par-5 fifth holes to put her at 2-over par for the round. After making par on No. 6, she had a pair of bogeys sandwiched around a par on the eighth to close out her NCAA postseason debut round.
Meanwhile, Carreon is one shot behind her teammate after the opening day. The 2023 NCAA San Antonio Regional champion teed off from No. 1 and bounced back from a bogey on the opening hole with three consecutive pars. The San Antonio native had three more pars to go with a pair of bogeys for a 39 on the front.
Carreon made par on the 520-yard, par-5 10th and then countered a bogey and double bogey with back-to-back birdies, writing down threes on the 331-yard 13th and 369-yard 14th holes. Playing in the NCAA postseason for the fourth year in a row, the two-time national championships qualifier finished off her round with an exclamation point, recording a birdie on the 444-yard, par-5 18th.
There is a three-way tie for first through one round between LSU’s duo of Ingrid Lindblad and Latanna Stone along with SMU’s Mackenzie Lee, who all posted a 4-under 68 on Monday.
In the team standings, LSU and SMU are tied atop the leaderboard at 2-under par, while Texas A&M is one stroke behind in third in the 12-team field.
The top five teams (30 total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six total) from each regional site will advance to compete in the national championships on May 17-22 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Round two is scheduled for Tuesday with Abonce and Carreon teeing off from No. 10 at 9:40 a.m.
-UTSA-