FLEETWOOD, Pa. – First-year players Brooke Graham (Carlisle, Pa./Boiling Springs) and Rhi Stutz (Prescott, Wisc./Prescott) worked their way into the top five on the leaderboard at the conclusion of Sunday's opening round at the Kutztown Fall Invitational at Moselem Springs Golf Club.
 
Graham, who shot 71 to win her collegiate debut at the ESU Fall Invitational back in mid-September, showed she's going to be a consistent threat for tournament titles. The Carlisle, Pa., native collected three birdies and six pars to fire a round of 8-over par 78.
 
The round placed Graham third behind the Alvernia duo of McKylie Boreman (74) and Katie Lapinsky (75) with 18 holes to play. Graham shot a 3-over 38 going out before finishing with a 5-over 40 on the back nine.
 
Stutz also impressed during KU's first tournament with a 77 and has coach Robert Fisher excited about the 1-2 punch at the top of his lineup. Stutz carded an 83 (+13) on the par 70, 5,660 yard course and sits in a two-way tie for fourth.
 
Moselem Springs is a challenge for even the most seasoned golfers, but Stutz started to make ground as her round went on. She registered four straight pars from holes 14-17 and was just 5-over on the back nine.
 
Another freshman, Grace Klements (Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Pinelands Regional), used a birdie on the par 4, 325-yard eighteenth to shoot 90 for the day. She was Kutztown's third-best scorer and is currently tied for 15th overall.
 
Grace Babinchak (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) completed her opening round in 92 and Alexis Peet (Greentown, Pa./Wallenpaupack) finished with a 96 as the Golden Bears slotted into second place in the team standings with a 63-over 343.
 
Alvernia, backed by Boreman and Lapinsky at the top of the leaderboard, leads by 23 shots heading into the second round with a 40-over 320. West Chester is third at 349 (+69), Millersville fourth at 354 (+74), Clarion fifth at 358 (+78) and East Stroudsburg sixth at 471 (+191).
 
The Golden Bears will tee off at 11:30 a.m., Monday, to conclude the two day, 36-hole tournament.