HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. - Not even Mother Nature could dampen the debut of the Northeast Mississippi Community College women's golf program.

The Lady Tigers christened their inaugural season at Northwest Mississippi Community College's Lady Ranger Classic from September 15-16 at Kirkwood National Golf Club.

Tee times on the opening day were pushed back by slightly more than 20 minutes due to inclement weather in the area. Andie Kate Ramey received the honor of hitting Northeast's first-ever drive at 8:53 a.m. on the dot.

"I'm very proud of them. They each played well on different days," said Lady Tigers head coach Leigh Treloar. "One of the things I talked to them about is I feel like we have that out of the way, we've got our feet wet, and now we know that we belong there."

The Lady Tigers enrolled three of the five members on their roster in the season opener. Ramey led Northeast with a two-day total of 172 after improving her score by six shots during the final round.

The Booneville native finished just outside the top five in seventh place. Ramey picked up a pair of birdies on the last day at the 328-yard first hole and on the par-five seventh.

Maggie McElhaney of Olive Branch was the Lady Tigers' individual leader after the first round. She ended the event in 12th place overall with a 181.

McElhaney recorded the first birdie in school history. She drained a putt on the par-four 16th near the conclusion of her initial round of the competition.

Tupelo's Sidney Kelly followed with a 198 for a top 25 result. She had perhaps the shot of the tournament by chipping out of the mud by a water hazard and back onto the fairway on the 18th to avoid taking a penalty stroke.

"Now they know what to expect," Treloar said. "They're excited to get back out there and play again kinda knowing more of what's about to happen and how it will be."

Next up for Northeast is the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) South District Preview from September 29-30 in Oxford, Ala., at Cider Ridge Golf Club.