2017 GNAC Championships - First Round Results

COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho - The Western Washington University women's golf team is in 2nd place after the first round of the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships played Monday at Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.

WWU finished the first 18 holes of the 36-hole tournament with a team score of 29-over-par 313, 8 strokes back of tournament leader Simon Fraser University (+21, 305). The Vikings have won five of the GNAC Championships, but had their five-year string of tournament titles snapped last season by SFU. Tomorrow's final round is scheduled to begin at 8 am.

"This is a course where a bit move can be made and that's the mindset that we need to bring to the course tomorrow," said head coach Bo Stephan. "We were close today, but tomorrow everyone needs to be just a little sharper. I think there are some spots where we can be a little more aggressive and make something happen, but also some holes where playing safer is better. We just need to recognize those different areas."

Junior Jenn Paul (Bellingham, WA) led the Vikings contingent with a 4-over-par 75 on the 5,914-yard par 71 layout. Paul sits in 2nd place heading into tomorrow's final round, 5 strokes back of Simon Fraser's Emily Leung. Paul, the two-time GNAC co-Player of the Year, is looking for her highest finish in the GNAC Championships, tying for 3rd place in each of her first two seasons.

Sophomore Hannah Drake (Pocatello, ID/Century) is in 4th place in the 30-player field after turning in a 6-over-par 77 on Monday.

Senior Audrey Orem (Bellingham, WA) is tied for 7th (+9, 80) and sophomore Stephanie Sewell (+10, 81) is tied for 9th to round out WWU's counting scores in the first round. Senior Brooke Branigan (Bellingham, WA) stands in a tie for 21st place at 15-over-par (86).

The defending champion Clan had each of their four scoring players finish inside the top 10 of the first round to take an 8-stroke lead over the Vikings. Paul (77.6) and Leung (77.7) were the top two leaders in the GNAC in scoring average entering the tournament.

The Vikings are ranked No. 13 in the latest NCAA Division II West Region rankings, needing to move up at least one spot to make a return trip to the NCAA II Championships. The NCAA Field of 48 will be announced on Monday, May 1 at 1 pm PT on NCAA.com.

Tomorrow's final round is scheduled to begin at 8 am with WWU players starting to tee off between 8:55 and 9:39 am.

Fans and media can follow the final round leaderboard and team standings via Golfstat.

Here is a complete listing of WWU's competitors in the GNAC Championships and the complete team leaderboard: