HOUSTON, TX – The University of Redlands Women's Golf team opened up the NCAA Division III National Championships in Houston, TX Tuesday with a 304, which places them 7th overall out of a field of 29 teams.
The Bulldogs are currently twelve shots off the leader (No. 1 Emory University – 292), but are in a good spot to move up the leaderboard as they sit behind No. 11 WashU (2nd – 297), No. 4 Methodist (3rd – 300), No. 8 Pomona-Pitzer (4th – 303), No. 2 Carnegie Mellon (4th – 303), and No. 12 New York University (4th – 303).
After six holes the Maroon and Grey found themselves on top of the leaderboard shooing -2 as a team, leading the next closest program by five strokes. But this advantage soon went away as UR dropped six spots into seventh.
Three Bulldogs finished within a shot of each other following the opening 18. Hannah Jugar (Chula Vista, CA) was the top finisher for the Bulldogs posting an opening 74, which puts her 14th. She shot -2 on the front nine before bogeying four straight on the back en route to shooting a +2. Iris Liu (Diamond Bar, CA) was in the same situation shooting -2 across the first nine holes before bogeying five of the final six holes to shoot a 75 placing her in a tie for 15th. Kendall Nicholson (Bellevue, WA) was in the red to start her round going -1 through nine, but a pair of doubles on the back would prove costly as she would shoot a 76 to place in a tie for 28th.
Andrea York (Oakdale, CA) was the fourth Bulldog to shoot in the 70's going with a 79, placing her in a tie for 49th. She started her day with a double, but bounced back nicely to shoot +3 on the front and +4 on the back. Malia Kiger (Hermosa Beach, CA) would round out the scoring for UR with an 80, putting her in a tie for 61st. She began her round with a pair of doubles, but settled down to par out the opening nine. Then on the back she would start with three bogeys before getting one back with a birdie on 14, but an ensuing double would drop her back to shooting +8 for the day.
Redlands returns tomorrow, May 11 for Day 2 action at Bay Oaks Country Club.