Port St. Lucie, Fla. - The Stetson women's golf team has opened up a seven-stroke lead on the field after the first round of the Homewood Suites Invitational, hosted by Siena College.  Sophomore Alexandria Buelow (Palm City, Fla.) and junior Lauren Cate (St. Augustine, Fla.) share the individual lead after each shot one over par 73.

Stetson stands at 21 over par 309 after 18 holes with Buelow and Cate leading the way by two strokes over Mariana Juaristi (Fairleigh Dickinson).  Freshman Sammi Smith (Louisville, Ky.) carded a 76 and is tied for fourth out of 49 players.  Also in the team contingent are senior Lauren Eliopoulos (Akron, Ohio) and freshman Claudia Redinger (Durban, South Africa); they shot 87 and 90, respectively.  Senior Alex Banham (Peterborough, England), playing as an individual only, is in a tie for 15th place at nine over par after her opening 81.

At +21, Stetson leads Fairleigh Dickinson by seven strokes and Rutgers by 11.  Also competing this week are Indianapolis (+34), host Siena (+35), Dartmouth (+50), Hartford (+50), Dartmouth "B" (+60) and Long Island University (+61).

The tournament concludes tomorrow with the second and final round.