ANDERSON, S.C. – Paced by sophomore Kate Hill's 4-over-par 76 and with five golfers in the top 10, the Anderson women's golf team leads the AU Invitational by four shots over Lincoln Memorial, following opening-round action Monday at the 5,825 yard, par-72  Cobb's Glen Country Club layout.

The host Trojans (321) are bidding to win the tournament for the first time in school history after finishing second two years ago, while the Lady Railsplitters (325) were runners-up last year after winning the event in 2015.

Erskine, which won the team title in 2014, trails LMU by 11 strokes and King (353) rounds out the four-team field.

LMU senior Dominika Czudkova, who fired an opening-round 74, is atop the leaderboard and leads Hill by two strokes. Five golfers, including AU senior Riley Lovorn (81) and junior Tiffany Elam (81) are seven strokes off the pace and share the third spot.

Hill led the Trojans with a pair of birdies and also reached par on 10 holes, while Elam led the field by reaching par on 11 holes during the first round. Sophomore Anna Freeman and junior Samantha Ellison, who is competing as an individual, each posted identical 11-over-par 83s and share 10th place.

Junior Blake Hodges, who is playing as an individual, notched an 88 and is tied for 15th, while classmate Makalyn Poole is tied for 17th after an opening-round 89.

Tuesday's second round is slated to get underway at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start.

1 Team Scores
1 Anderson   321 +33
2 Lincoln Memorial  325 +37
3 Erskine College  336 +48
4 King University  353 +65