COLUMBIA, Missouri (October 3, 2016) - FIU freshman Carolina Rotzinger (Puebla, Mexico) posted consecutive rounds under par to sit in a tie for fifth and lead the Panthers women's golf team to a tie for fourth after Monday's 36-hole first day of the Eighth-Annual Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted by Missouri. The Panthers are 7-over (289-294  583) with a pair of golfers shooting under par in each of the first two rounds. 
 
Rotzinger birdied three-straight holes for the first time in her collegiate career in the opening round and turned in a 2-under 70 to lead the Panthers and sit in a tie for seventh before the players started the second round. Her four birdies led the Panthers in the morning round. In the afternoon, she posted five birdies and shot a 1-under 71 for a 3-under tally (70-71  141) and a five-way tie for fifth. She is one of just 11 players in the field under par heading into Tuesday's final round. She produced nine birdies in total, tied for fifth-most among players in the field.
 
Senior Camila Serrano (Bogota, Columbia) was very steady in the morning, with 16 pars in the first round. She produced a bogey on the par-4 14^th hole and birdied 17 and number one as she finished her round, after she started on the fourth hole, at 1-under. She was 4-over in the afternoon and is 3-over (71-76  147) for the tournament and in a tie for 24^th.
 
Junior Katerina Krasova (Ricany, Czech Republic) had one bogey and one birdie in the morning session, scoring pars on the remaining 17 holes for an even-par 72. She had two more birdies in the afternoon and shot 76 in the later round and has a 4-over (72-76  148) score, tied for 28^th. Her 26 pars are tied for the third-most among players.
 
The Panthers are tied with ETSU in fourth, two shots behind Kennesaw State, four back of Fresno State and nine behind host Missouri, which leads at 2-under on their home course.
 
The Panthers will be paired with ETSU and Troy, and start on holes four through seven in the shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.