Oregon's Briana Chacon
The NCAA Divison I Women's Golf Championships got underway today with opening-round action at six regional sites throughout the country.
The top four teams from each regional, along with the top two individuals from non-advancing teams, will punch their tickets to the National Championships to be held at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 20-25.
Here's a recap of first-round action from the six regional sites.
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Tallahassee Regional; Seminole Legacy Golf Club; Tallahassee, Fla.
Three of the top four seeds from this regional held steady on Monday, but fourth-seed and defending national champion Ole Miss is currently two-strokes of the cutline at 13-over. Sun Belt Conference champions Georgia Southern and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions Quinnipiac, seeded 11th and 12th respectively, opened strong.
Beatrice Wallin of Florida State and Ashley Gilliam of Mississippi State lead the individual race at 3-under while 11 other golfers are within three shots of the lead.
Top four seeds: 1. South Carolina; 2. UCLA; 3. Florida State; 4. Ole Miss
Advancing teams as of today: 1. UCLA (E). 2. Florida State (+2); 3. Mississippi State (+3); t-4. South Carolina (+11); Miami; Quinnipiac.
On the outside looking in: 7. Georgia Southern (+12); 8. Ole Miss (+13).
Advancing individuals as of today: Berta Sanchez Sabe, Jacksonville State (-1); Four tied at even
They said it: "The team did a great job of showing trust and patience after stumbling out of the gates. That first hole of the day really hit us in the mouth but being able to stay so steady and unshaken was huge for the rest of the day. Obviously [Ashley Gilliam] did a fantastic job leading the day with seven birdies and being tough as she always is, but all five golfers hung so steady all day and that really pumps confidence throughout the team. Tomorrow we just want to stay focused on being just a little bit better across the board. We did a pretty solid job on day one so now our focus goes to doing our job on day two and having a great team day."
Mississippi State head coach Charlie Ewing
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Ann Arbor Regional; University of Michigan Golf Course; Ann Arbor, Mich.
Only three shots separate the top five teams in Ann Arbor, where fourth-seeded Arkansas sits atop the leaderboard at 7-over 291. The top two seeds, San Jose State and Virginia, are tied for fourth at 10-over, but are five-strokes clear of the two teams directly behind them in Xavier and North Carolina. Coming off a strong showing at the Pac-12 Championships, the eight-seeded Washington Huskies traveled well to the Midwest and are currently tied with Michigan for second place.
Ela Anacona of Arkansas and Jana Melichova of Old Dominion are tied atop the leaderboard at 2-under while 21 others are within four shots of the lead.
Top four seeds: 1. San Jose State; 2. Virginia; 3. Michigan; 4. Arkansas
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Arkansas (+7); t-2, Washington (+9); Michigan; t-4. San Jose State (+10); Virginia.
On the outside looking in: t-6. Xavier (+15); North Carolina.
Advancing individuals as of today: Jana Melichova, Old Dominion (-2); Six tied at +1.
They said it: "Some of today was about comfort. We have never hosted a regional before and we had to get that out of our system. After a solid start, we didn't control our golf ball as well as we could have on the back nine. We let the (windy) conditions get to us a little bit. We have to keep smiling and doing what helps us play well. That means being relaxed and having fun. There is a lot of golf to play and we have a low round in us."Michigan head coach Jan Dowling
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Stillwater Regional; Karsten Creek Golf Club; Stillwater, Okla.
While there are still 36 holes remaining, the top four teams in Stillwater look solid, as there is a seven-stroke gap between Oklahoma State and Arizona State, which are tied for third at 8-over, and their closest pursuer, Michigan State, which sits in fifth place at 15-over. Clemson, seeded sixth, crashed the top-four following a 5-over round of 293 and is just one back of first-round leader Baylor.
Baylor's Britta Snyder tops the individual leaderboard after a 3-under round of 69.
Top four seeds: 1. Oklahoma State; 2. Arizona State; 3. Baylor; 4. Auburn
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Baylor (+4), 2. Clemson (+5); t-3. Oklahoma State (+8); Arizona State.
On the outside looking in: 5. Michigan State (+15); 6. Furman (+20).
Advancing individuals as of today: Anna Nordfors, Campbell (+1); (t) Anna Morgan, Furman (+2); Sophia Burnett, Furman.
They said it: "This is a great golf course to have a regional championship, because you have to fight so hard out here every day, and it prepares you for what you're going to see at Nationals. The fact that we had some stumbles coming in but then made two eagles and a birdie on the last hole shows our perseverance. This is going to be a fight until the end of Wednesday. I mean, that's just the way regionals are, and we're going to go through our process the same way we always do. We're going to reflect on the round, go out and work on stuff we need to do to get better for tomorrow. Everybody's going to take a lot of punches out here, especially in a 25-mile-per-hour wind. You have to put your head down, get back to work, go out there, and hit every shot as best you can."
Baylor head coach Jay Goble
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Franklin Regional; Vanderbilt Legends Club; Franklin, Tenn.
Top-seed Wake Forest isn't panicking, but the top-seeded Demon Deacons have some work in front of them after an opening round of 4-over 292 left them three strokes off the cutline. The fourth-seeded Duke Blue Devils got off to a hot start with eight early birdies from sophomore Phoebe Brinker, junior Erica Shepherd and sophomore Anne Chen and are tied for the overall lead with Alabama at 1-under 287.
Alabama's Polly Mack has the individual lead after shooting a 7-under-par 65 on Monday, despite recording a double bogey on the par-4 first and a bogey on the par-4 second. Mack ran off 10 birdies through her next 16 holes, including seven straight to finish her round, en route to a 7-under round of 65. Holly Muse of East Tennessee State is just one back.
Top four seeds: 1. Wake Forest; 2. Alabama; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Duke
Advancing teams as of today: t-1. Duke (-1); Alabama; 3. Vanderbilt (E), 4. Texas A&M (+1).
On the outside looking in: 5. Wake Forest (+4); t- 6. Texas-San Antonio (+5); Oregon State.
Advancing individuals as of today: Holly Muse, East Tennessee State (-6); Flair Kuan, Boston (-2).
They said it: "I am really happy with the effort today. They stayed patient. It was a really gusty day. It was amazing how it was going from zero wind to 15 mph – just changing back and forth. I thought they handled the wind changes. These greens are really fast and firm. They had to be patient and I think they did a great job."
Duke head coach Dan Brooks
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Albuquerque Regional; The Championship Course at UNM; Albuquerque, NM
While the top three seeds in Albuquerque seem to be taking care of their business, a fierce battle for the coveted fourth spot is developing between TCU, Georgia, Arizona, Louisville and North Texas, five teams which are separated by just four strokes heading into the second round.
Oregon's Briana Chacon enjoys a three-stroke lead among the individuals after firing a 7-under 65 at the UNM Championship course, carding six birdies and an eagle against just one bogey.
Top four seeds: 1. Oregon; 2. Florida; 3. Texas; 4. Arizona
Advancing teams as of today: 1. Oregon (-4); 2. Texas (-1); 3. Florida (E); t-4. TCU (+4); Georgia.
On the outside looking in: 6. Arizona (+5); 7. Louisville (+7).
Advancing individuals as of today: Patricie Mackova, Maryland (-2); Four tied at -1.
They said it: "Truthfully, it was very solid round, and we're right where we need to be. Sure, we would prefer to be leading, but we're not. At the same time, one thing we have struggled with this season is coming out of the gate on Day 1. We had a very solid day today and have that behind us. We traditionally have played better in the second rounds and if we can continue to do that tomorrow, we know we'll move up the leaderboard." Georgia head coach Josh Brewer
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Stanford Regional; Stanford Golf Course; Stanford, Calif.
While the top three seeds at Stanford seem to be rock solid, an interesting battle for the fourth spot in shaping up between Iowa State, Northwestern and Purdue, seeded 6-8, respectively. The three schools are separated by just two shots heading into the second round.
Fourth-seeded Texas Tech and No. 5 seed Kentucky are currently 12 shots out of the fourth spot after opening with 11-over rounds of 295.
With five of the eight players who will represent Team USA in the upcoming Curtis Cup Match on hand, the individual field at Stanford is loaded with star power. Latanna Stone of LSU leads the individual race after carding a 4-under round of 67. Ruby Chou of Iowa State is one back while Stone's teammate Ingrid Lindblad, Stanford's Rose Zhang and USC's Amari Avery are just two off the pace.
Top four seeds: 1. Stanford; 2. Southern California; 3. LSU; 4. Texas Tech
Advancing teams as of today: 1. 1. LSU (-5); 2. USC (-4); 3. Stanford (-1); 4. Purdue (+1).
On the outside looking in: t-5. Northwestern (+3); Iowa State (+3).
Advancing individuals as of today: Ruby Chou, Iowa State (-3); Kelly Sim, Northwestern (-1).
They said it: “It was a great start for us. I was very pleased with how each one of the ladies played (Monday). To travel across the country and play with Stanford at their home course and another California team in USC who are very comfortable playing here and to play as well as we did was very rewarding.
“Our top three seem to rise to the occasion and play their best in big tournaments. Latanna played exceptionally well, but to have those top three all finish under par on the day was big for us. It was a good start which is what we were hoping for but there is still a lot of golf to be played. We will go out (Tuesday) trying to improve upon what we did and try to win the day.”
LSU head coach Garrett Runion