The Lady Raiders are 11 strokes off the pace established by Denver, which shot a 309 Monday and although there are several teams between Middle Tennessee and the top spot, Short believes her team still has a chance in the three-day, 54-hole event.

"A three-day event always helps, especially if you have a bad round," Short said. "That's the good thing in our situation. We have to be a little bit tougher. This is when you find out how tough your team is. We have to get through this and battle back."

Senior Kristin Lynch and sophomore Maggie McGill led Middle Tennessee with a 7-over-par 79, while freshman standout Taryn Durham, playing for the first time since being diagnosed with mononucleosis shot a disappointing 80. Jenny Kim and Jamey Dillard each fired an 82.

"This was definitely not our best day," Short said. "We didn't play well and we didn't execute. The wind and everything took a toll on us. We didn't do a good job of course management and some things at the end but, like I said, the good thing is we have two more days so we can redeem ourselves (Tuesday) and get back into contention."

None of the Lady Raiders managed a round of par on either the front or back on the Dye Course, one of three golf courses at the beautiful PGA Village, however, McGill, Durham and Dillard all short 3-over-par 39 on the back or the situation could have been worse for Middle Tennessee.

Individual
T15 Kristin Lynch 39-40 79
T15 Maggie McGill 40-39 79
T23 Taryn Durham 41-39 80
T33 Jenny Kim 41-41 82
T33 Jamey Dillard 43-39 82

Team
Denver 309
2. New Mexico State 310
3. Florida International 311
4. Arkansas-Little Rock 312
5. New Orleans 316
6. South Alabama 318
T7. Middle Tennessee 320
T7. North Texas 320
9. Arkansas State 323
10. Western Kentucky 328

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