McCALLA, AL– Winthrop freshman golfer Erin White carded the low opening day round of the 2006 PUPS/PDPS Big South Conference Women's Golf Championship on Monday as she shot a two-under par 70 to lead her team to second place after the first day of the 54-hole tournament.

Winthrop, the tourney's No. 3 seed, shot a 304 score on the Par 72, 6,184-yard Bent Brook Golf Course in McCalla, AL.  No. 1 seed Birmingham-Southern shot an opening round 301 to take a three-stroke lead over the Lady Eagles while No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina sits in third-place with a team score of 307.

Individually, White shot identical scores of 35-35 on the front and back nines as she carded two birdies and 16 pars to lead the tournament by two shots over High Point’s Kate O’Sullivan (36-36=72). Birmingham-Southern’s Emily Klein is third with a 1-over 73 (36-37). Following Klein on the leaderboard are Coastal Carolina’s Katy Heher with a 74, while Radford’s Lara Peffley, Birmingham-Southern’s Alyson Mitchell and BSC Panther Lauren Dodge are tied for fifth with a 3-over 75.

High Point is in fourth-place with a 309 team score, just eight shots off the overall lead. Radford stands in fifth with a 317, while associate member Bucknell is sixth at 322. Charleston Southern is seventh at 332 and associate member Holy Cross is eighth at 367.

In addition to White's round of 70, freshmen Brittany Dabule fired a 77 while senior Shannon Hopkins shot 78 and junior Jutta Degerman had a 79.  Freshman Sara Hester rounded out Winthrop's five scorers with a 83.

Second round action will begin Tuesday, April 11 at 8:00 a.m .while the final round is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday.