VISTA, Calif. – The Western Washington University women's golf team is tied for 6th place in a 15-team field through the first round of the Fujikura Invitational hosted by Cal State San Marcos at Shadowridge Golf Club.

 

The Vikings opened their spring season with an opening round team score of 29-over-par 317 on the par 72, 5,993-yard layout situated just north of San Diego. WWU is positioned ahead of five teams that are ranked ahead of the current No. 42 ranking in the Golfstat Relative Team Rankings.

 

WWU has three players listed in the top 30 in the 77-player field through the first 18 holes of the 36-hole tournament, led by senior Megan Billeter in a tie for 12th place following a 5-over-par 77. Junior Dani Bailey is tied for 16th (+6, 78) and freshman Emma Worgum is tied for 29th (+8, 80). 

 

"We didn't have the best start or finish, but we are still in the mix going into tomorrow's final round," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "The team got over their nerves and put together a solid stretch of golf in the middle of the round. The weather was great, but we battled a challenging layout and greens."

 

No. 26 Cal State Monterey Bay holds the team lead with a 17-over-par 305, one stroke better than No. 38 Cal State East Bay. Cal State LA is in 3rd place at +21 (309) and tournament host No. 14 Cal State San Marcos is in 4th at +25 (313).

 

Alli Kim of Point Loma and Mia Golovich of Sonoma State are tied for individual medalist honors following first round scores of even-par 72.

 

Tuesday's final round is scheduled to feature a shotgun start at 8:30 am, with WWU paired with Sonoma State, Holy Names and Biola. Fans can track the live leaderboard via Golfstat.com online with a direct link at wwuvikings.com/WG_Live.

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard following Monday's first round of the Fujikura Invitational at Shadowridge Golf Club in Vista, California:

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022-23 season schedule for the WWU Women's Golf program. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/WGolf.

 

 

The WWU women's golf team is in its 30th season as an intercollegiate sport in 2022-23. WWU has a rich history on the links, winning the first five GNAC Championships beginning in 2011 and returned to the podium with back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. WWU made its 12th appearance in the NCAA II West Regional Championships in 2022 after earning the GNAC's automatic bid. WWU has also made six trips to the NCAA II National Championships. A Viking has been named the GNAC Player of the Year in nine of the 11 years it has been awarded, incluing 2021-22 award winner Megan Billeter. WWU has also produced the only two players in GNAC history to earn four First Team All-GNAC awards (Jenn Paul and Kristen Hansen) and has had nine All-Americans.