NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. - The Saint Mary's golf team matched the weather and started out hot before batting the heat all afternoon on day one of the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships at Keene Trace Golf Club.

 

No. 4 ranked Emory holds the lead through 18 holes after shooting a 295 on Tuesday. Top-ranked Carnegie Mellon is three strokes back with a 298. No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer and No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan are tied for third after matching scores of 305 while four squads posted team scores of 307. The Belles sit in a tie for 18th place after carding a team score of 322. As a team, Saint Mary's had 12 birdies in the round, which was the fourth-most among the 29 teams in the field and trailed only Emory, Illinois Wesleyan, and Carnegie Mellon.

Karen Lee from Texas at Dallas fired a four-under par 68 to take the early lead for the individual national championship. Alexis Sudjianto from Carnegie Mellon and Sydney Kuo from Washington University in St. Louis are tied for second after posting scores of 71.

 

Haley Angel and Julia Lizak paced the Belles with matching scores of 77 (t-35th) on day one. Angel opened the round with back-to-back birdies on par four No. 10 and par five No. 11 before going one-over on the back nine. Angel added a third birdie on par five No. 8. Her one-under combined score on par five holes was tied for the seventh-best scoring average on par five holes on day one, and she was tied for 13th in birdies in the round with three.

 

Lizak started the round with a birdie on par four No. 10 and added another birdie on par four No. 16. After making the turn to the front nine, the sophomore tore up the final nine holes of her round by going two-under. She had birdies on par five No. 2, par four No. 7, and par five No. 8 before wrapping up play with a par. Lizak was tied for third in total birdies in the round with five.

 

Amanda Melling shot an 81 and is tied for 82nd in the field. She had a birdie on par three No. 12 before circling another birdie on par five No. 17. Melling then went three-over on the front nine with no score above a bogey while carding six pars. Her one-under combined score on par five holes was tied for the seventh-best scoring average on par five holes on day one.

 

Colleen Hand rounded out the team score after posting an 87 (t-121st). The freshman opened her round with back-to-back pars and added two more on the back nine before collecting two pars on the front nine. Hand circled a birdie on par four No. 3 in the round for the Belles.

 

Katelyn Tokarz shot a 91 (t-140th) on Tuesday as the fifth player in the lineup for the Belles. Tokarz began play with a birdie on par four No. 10 and had a pair of pars in the round.

 

The Belles are within striking distance of making the cut heading into day two of action as the current 15th place team had a 317 on day one. Saint Mary's tees off at 9:10 a.m. and will need to be in the top 15 after 36 holes of play to continue their run in the NCAA Championships.