COLUMBUS, Ohio – The East Carolina women's golf team struggled during the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Central Regional posting a 41-over par 329 and currently sits in 24th place after 18 holes. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being played at the par-72, 6,264-yard Scarlet Course and is hosted by Ohio State.

A trio of Pirates, Emily Eng, Amy Otteson and Fanny Wolte, fired a 10-over 82 and are currently tied for 91st place. Faith Hardison is tied for 101st after an 11-over 83 and Katie Kirk is 125th with a 27-over 99.

After carding an opening round one score of 10-over 298, Southern Cal leads the 24-team NCAA Central Regional field by a one-stroke margin. Georgia (299) and Purdue (301) are sitting in second and third, while Notre Dame sits in fourth with a score of 304, 16-over.

Sitting atop the individual leaderboard is Vanderbilt’s Marina Alex with a 2-under 70. Alex finished the day with a solid round of golf, totaling three birdies to offset one bogey. Purdue’s Paula Reto and Florida State’s Maria Salinas are tied for second at 1-under 71.

The second round of the tournament will begin Friday with 8 a.m. tee times. Live scoring for the event will be available at Golfstat.com.