MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Cal State Fullerton women's golf team struggled out of the gate in its 2013-14 season debut, but recovered in round two on Monday to finish day one of the Minnesota Invitational in ninth place at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis.

Junior Tisha Alyn Abrea jumped 10 spots after the first round and stands in a tie for 13th individually after 36 holes, finishing with a 9-over-par 153 to trail Kent State's Jennifer Ha by six strokes with one round remaining.

Abrea, who opened with a 78, was three shots better in the second round, helping the Titans improve by 12 strokes as a team and finish day one at 48-over (624). Illinois is the team leader at 27-over (603), edging second-place Kent State and host Minnesota by five shots for the day one lead.

Among league rivals, Fullerton trails Big West Conference foe Long Beach State by just three strokes for eighth place and leads UC Irvine by 25 shots after day one.

Three of the Titans' five golfers showed improvement in round two in a Fullerton lineup that featured a pair of newcomers in freshman Martina Edberg and junior transfer Kate Cho. Edberg, who opened with an 80 in her first round at the collegiate level, was four shots better in round two to finish day one in a tie for 26th -- an improvement of 11 spots in the standings after round one -- with a 12-over (156). Cho, a transfer from Irvine Valley College, shot a pair of 83's to finish the first 36 holes in 52nd place at 22-over (166).

Junior Makayla Mier was five shots better in her second round to finish with a 13-over-par 157 and a tie for 30th -- jumping a team-best 13 spots in the standings after the first round -- while junior Seri Lee shot a pair of 79's and was one shot back of her teammate at 14-over and a tie for 34th.

Play concludes on Tuesday morning (Sept. 17) beginning at 9 a.m. (CT) with the final 18 holes. Live scoring is available here: http://www.golfstatresults.com//public/index.cfm?tournament_id=4593.