ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Twenty other teams are looking up at Nova Southeastern following round one of the World Golf Invitational, as the Sharks fired a collective (+2) 290 in their season debut Monday to grab a five-shot lead. Hanna Ahlander owns a personal one-shot edge following her round of (-2) 70, while Ellen Andersson sits just two back after an even-par effort.  

INSIDE THE TOURNAMENT:
Tournament Standing: 1st of 21 Teams
Tournament Leader: Nova Southeastern
Location: Slammer & Squire | St. Augustine, Fla.
Par/Yardage: 72/6,049
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_WGolf | Instagram - @NSU_WGolf | Facebook - /NSUSharksGolf

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• In their first competitive action since late October, the Sharks closed their opening round of the season with four players among the Top-13 of the 111-player field.
• NSU owns a five-stroke advantage over Rollins with 18 holes to play, with Saint Leo (+8), Limestone (+11) and Tampa (+13) also in contention.
• Ahlander played a bit up-and-down through 13 holes, shooting even-par to that point, until closing strong with birdies on No. 14 and No. 16 to capture a slight, one-shot advantage over Limestone's Ebba Hellman.
• Andersson needed about six holes to find her rhythm before a birdie on No. 7 began a string of three birdies over a five-hole stretch. Had it not been for a bogey on No. 17, the Swede would have posted a red number. Still, Andersson wrapped up round one at even-par and well in the mix near the top of the leaderboard.
• Despite bogeys on No. 17 and No. 18 by both Sofia Garcia Austt and Haruka Muta, the two still managed solid rounds of (+2) 74 to grab a share of 13^th.
• Freshman Jimena Marques tallied a pair of birdies on the back nine en route to an opening round of (+5) 77, good enough to be tied in 34^th.
• Competing as an individual, Nicola Fall shot (+3) 75 to enter the clubhouse tied for 17^th.

STATS OF THE DAY:

• As a team, NSU owns the field's top Par-3 (2.95), Par-4 (4.18) and Par-5 (4.95) scoring averages.
• Ahlander's five birdies matched a tournament-high in round one.

BEYOND THE SCORECARD:

• Five of the leaderboard's current Top-6 teams are Sunshine State Conference programs.
• NSU has won in each of its last three appearances at the World Golf Invitational.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will go for their fourth straight WGI victory when the final round tees off at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. For coverage, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Instagram and Twitter at @NSU_WGolf.