MIAMI, FLA. (FIUSports.com) – A week after winning her first collegiate tournament in her FIU debut, freshman Meghan MacLaren (Cambridge, U.K.) is back at it again just two spots off the lead after the first day of the Sixth Annual Johnie Imes Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole event is being hosted by the University of Missouri at the par-72, 6,234-yard Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo.

MacLaren hit a 70 in the opening round and a 73 in the second round to fall one-under par (143). Kansas State's Whitney Pyle leads all 99 golfers with a two-round seven-under (137), hitting a 68 and 69 on the first day. SMU's Melanie White is second at five-under (139), bolstered by a tournament-low 65 in round two. MacLaren is tied for third
with SMU's Jennifer Park (71-72) and Illinois State's Rachel Powers (69-74).

As a squad, FIU is sitting in the middle of the pack at 29-over with a team score of 605. No. 38 SMU leads the field at five-over (581).

Senior Tania Tare (Auckland, New Zealand) is the next Panther in 35th with a nine-over, 153 (77-76). Junior Shelby Coyle (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is tied for 43rd at 10-over, 154 (78-76) and senior Yolecci Jimenez (Caracas, Venezuela) is tied for 47th at 11-over, 155 (77-78). Freshman Carla Jane (Santiago, Chile) rounds out the starting five tied for 64th at 15-over, 159 (81-79).

Final round action begins Tuesday morning. Scoring will be available on GolfStat.com and results will also be posted at MUTigers.com. A complete recap with results will be posted on FIUSports.com following the day's play.

Last weekend, FIU started the year with a tournament victory at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Panthers tied the host school, Michigan, after three rounds for top team honors.

In addition to FIU and host-school, Missouri, there are a total of 19 teams in the field for the Johnie Imes Invitational, including: Bradley, Colorado State, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri State, Montana, Oklahoma City University, Redlands Community College, SMU, UALR, UMKC and Wichita State.

FIU has competed in the last four Johnie Imes Invitational tournaments, and most recently had their best team finish in 2011, third-place among 15 schools participating. Texas State (879) won the event, ahead of Kansas State (886) and FIU (893). FIU was fourth in 2010, eleventh in 2009 and sixth in 2008. Individually, former FIU golfer Katie Mundy recorded one of the top final round scores in the history of the event, with a 69 in 2010.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.