Open Announce

Lobos Tied for Fifth After Day One of NCAA Women’s Golf Championship

by Steve Kirkland

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The New Mexico women’s golf team had a strong start to the 2023 NCAA Championship on Friday as play began at Grayhawk Golf Club. The Lobos shot 1-under during the opening round, the first time in program history that UNM shot under par for a round at the NCAA finals.

The Lobos are tied for fifth place after the opening day of the championship. Wake Forest is the opening round leader at 9-under, one shot ahead of Oklahoma State at 8-under. Georgia and South Carolina are tied for third at 2-under, while New Mexico is tied for fifth at 1-under with Texas A&M. Those are the only six teams to finish Friday’s play under par.

New Mexico played in the morning on Friday as the bottom 15 seeds were in the first wave of the day. The Lobos took advantage of the overcast conditions early and got as low at 8-under on the front nine before making the turn at 4-under. On the back nine, UNM couldn’t convert as many of its birdie chances and concluded the round at 1-under. New Mexico was one of only three teams from the morning wave to finish under par.

Leading the Lobos on Friday was Lisa-Marie Pagliano, who shot the first under-par round of her collegiate career with a 2-under 70 to finish the day T-10th on the individual leaderboard. She was 3-under through six holes before her only bogey of the day at No. 9. On the back nine, she parred every hole to finish 2-under, the lowest round by a New Mexico player at the NCAA Championship since Alexandra Phelps shot a first-round 69 playing the 2008 finals as an individual at the UNM Championship Course.

Jenny Lertsadwattana was also in red figures on Friday with a 1-under 71. Lauren Lehigh and Myah McDonald each shot a 1-over 73, while Maria Caparros Levin rounded out the lineup with a first-round 75.

“It was incredible to have New Mexico’s first under-par round at a NCAA Championship,” said head coach Jill Trujillo. “They played really steady and made a ton of birdies on the front nine. The back plays a little bit tougher, but they were solid. It was a really good performance by Lisa-Marie. For her her first under-par round as a Lobo to come at the NCAAs is quite an accomplishment. Everyone had a hand in it today, even with a couple of hiccups, we held it together. Our aim after the first round is to be in position, and we certainly did that, but there is a lot of golf left to go.”

The Lobos will play the second round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday afternoon, as each school will play in the opposite wave (morning/afternoon) as what it did in the first round. The third round will be Sunday before the field will be in cut in half for the fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday. The top eight teams from stroke play will advance to match play, which will crown the national champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be Tuesday and the final will be Wednesday. Golf Channel will televise the action live for the final three days (Monday-Wednesday).