FLOSSMOOR, Ill. -- UIC played close to home on Monday, weathering warm conditions and a talented field to shoot 81-over-par 657 on the first day of the Loyola Fall Invitational at historic Flossmoor Country Club.

"We really struggled around the greens today and we need to clean that up for tomorrow," said UIC head coach Mat Blair. "We're in the back of the field after one day, but if we can put together a good round tomorrow and move up into the middle of the pack, that would be really good progress for us. Everyone on the team is taking good swings right now, but we're struggling around the greens and will need to improve in that area."

TEEING OFF

• As a team the Flames shot 330 out of the gate in the opening round. That score positioned UIC in 10^th place among the 12 teams, four shots in back of Creighton and 10 in front of Chicago State.
• A pair of seniors shot the lowest rounds for the Flames in the morning session. Claudia Stampa led the way at 6-over-par 78, two shots better than teammate Kelly Sterling. Stampa was tied for 13^th after 18 holes, while Sterling was tied for 25^th after an 8-over-par 80.
• Sophomore Shivani Majmudar continued to play well in the season's early going. The Barrington, Ill., native carded a 12-over-par 84.
• In her first start in the UIC lineup, freshman Stephanie Mroz turned in an 88 in the first round. Another senior, Meghan Kramp, also shot 16-over-par 88 in round one Monday.
• Adrienne Montalone, competing as an individual, shot 10-over-par 82 during her first round.

MAKING THE TURN

• The Flames cut three shots off their round-one total by registering a 327 during the afternoon session. UIC enters the final round six shots in back of Horizon League foe Green Bay and 19 ahead of Chicago State.
• Mroz had the lowest score in the second round, shooting 7-over-par 79. The nine-stroke improvement also aided her lowest counting score of the young season.
• Sterling maintained her position in the top 30 on the individual leaderboard after shooting 10-over-par 82 in the second round. She is tied for 27^th following day one. Kramp matched Sterling's 82 as she improved her tally by six shots in the afternoon.
• Majmudar's second round mirrored the first ny the end as she shot 12-over-par 84 once again in round two.

AROUND THE GREEN

• Sterling led the Flames in par-3 scoring Monday. She shot 1-over on the course's four shortest holes with an average of 3.13 strokes per hole. Kramp was close behind at 2-over par (3.25 per hole).
• Stampa led the Flames with three birdies on Monday. That ranked tied for 10^th in the field.
• The field had an average score of 82.81 in the first round and 82.58 in the second. UIC's six players averaged 83.33 in round one and 83.5 in round two.

UP NEXT

• The Loyola Fall Invitational will conclude with 18 holes on Tuesday.
• The Flames will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. CT.