CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Mary-Paige King, representing the Catawba College women's golf program as an individual, opened the NCAA Division II South Regional with 2-over-par 74 in the opening round at Cleveland Country Club on Monday.

In her regional tournament debut, King began 1-over through five with her lone bogey coming on the second hole, the course's toughest with just one-third of the field making par or better. King rebounded with a sixth-hole birdie and ultimately closed the front nine at even par. Remaining level nearly halfway into the back, King stumbled with bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes but limited the damage with no doubles. The Clemmons, N.C., product closed out the day with a couple of pars, capturing a top-10 spot after 18 holes.

Lynn paces the 18-team tournament by five strokes, boasting a 6-over 294 with Wingate and Erskine tied for second place at 299. Tampa stands alone in fourth, while Anderson and Barry hold fifth-place shares; all five teams at the top are separated by eight or fewer shots. Wingate's Olivia Meinecke is the individual leader as the only player to go below par with a 2-under 70.

King ranks fourth among the 19 South Atlantic Conference golfers in attendance with Carson-Newman's Anaelle Picot within a shot and national No. 1 Amely Bochaton ahead by two.

The top four teams in the South Regional will earn a berth to the NCAA Division II Championship next week. To reach the final site, King needs to secure a top-two spot among individuals not on an advancing team.

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Due to the threat of inclement weather, the final two rounds will both be played tomorrow (Tuesday) in shotgun-start format. King will tee off on No. 18 at 8:30 a.m.