It took a lot of waiting and watching after its round was completed, but the UCLA women’s golf team finally went to sleep Thursday night knowing where it stands after one day of play in the NCAA West Regional Championships.
The Bruins, who entered as the top seed, are currently in third position at the West Regional, hosted by Stanford.
As a team, the Bruins shot an 8-over par 292 and sit a stroke behind the co-leaders, No. 13 Virginia and No. 7 Arizona. Also standing with the Bruins at 8-over par is Pac-10 rival and No. 24 Cal.
UCLA was led by sophomores Stephanie Kono and Brianna Do, who each posted a one-over 72 and are tied for 13th in the individual competition.
Do and Kono are five shots off the pace set by San Jose State’s Madeleine Ziegart. Do bogeyed her first three holes before regrouping and was even under par on the back nine before a couple missteps on the final holes put her at one over.
UCLA senior Sydnee Michaels shot a 73, and freshman Tiffany Lua and junior Glory Yang each shot a 75. Michaels, the Bruins’ most experienced player, tallied just one birdie on the day.
The round was the first of three for the Bruins, who can advance to the NCAA Championships in North Carolina with a top-eight finish this weekend.
UCLA has yet to finish lower than fourth in any of its tournaments this season.
Virginia was led by freshman Brittany Altomare, who made five birdies on the front nine en route to a first-round 70. Arizona, meanwhile, was sparked by sophomore Margarita Ramos’ first-round 71.
As for the rest of the Pac-10 teams, Arizona State, USC and Oregon are in first, second and fourth, respectively, in the Central Region. Washington is struggling in the East Regional, sitting at 20th place after the first day of competition.