CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Houston Baptist shot an opening round 313, improved two strokes in the second round to stand fourth and its top four players are each separated by one stroke after the first day of the Islander Classic at the 6,093-yard, par-72 Corpus Christi Country Club.
 
Sophomore Katie Paxton, making her second start after transferring to HBU at the beginning of the semester, leads the Huskies at 155, firing a 78 and a 77. Junior Kelsey Lou-Hing is tied for 23^rd at 156, shooting 79 and 77, while senior Natasha Lee is tied for 27^th at 157, carding 79 and 78. Senior Paige Gibson got off to a good start with a 77, but shot 81 in the second round to stand tied for 31^st at 158. Sophomore Jenny Kang shot 84, but followed with a 79 and is tied for 47^th at 163. Sophomore Jessica Ngui is tied for 45^th at 162, shooting 80 and 82.
 
UT-San Antonio turned in back-to-back rounds of 8-over par 296 to lead the tournament at 592, 27 strokes ahead of second-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Lamar is third at 621, three strokes ahead of the Huskies, who are three ahead of Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas.
 
UTSA's Taylor Newlin and North Dakota State's Amy Anderson are tied for the lead at 1-over par 145. Newlin shot 72 and 73, while Anderson opened with a 75, before turning in the day's best round at 2-under par 70. They have a four-stroke lead over UTSA's Summer Batiste, who is alone in third.
 
The tournament concludes with the final round Tuesday, beginning at 8 a.m.