VALLEJO, Calif. --- Biola Women's Golf began play at the 2017 NAIA West Championships on Monday afternoon at a wet and wild Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. The West Championships feature programs from the CalPac Conference and Golden State Athletic Conference as the field vies for a berth in the NAIA National Tournament.
Biola sits in second place through the first 18 holes. The Eagles shot a 347 (+59) to sit behind just Embry-Riddle (311) in the field of eight teams. The course, which is just over 5,800 yards, was very challenging on Monday thanks to tough tee conditions and Sunday night rain making everything soaked.
The Eagles battled through the challenging atmosphere to card three scores inside of the individual top-10 and earn a nice 23-stroke cushion over the third-place team.
Alexis Gopfert was the flag bearer for the Eagles on day one. The freshman shot an 84, which put her in eighth place overall as Biola's lowest scorer.
The other two ladies to find a spot inside of the top-10 were
Tori Roeske and
Mary Karnazes. Both of them shot an 86 to sit tied at 10
th with one another. The tournament leader, from Embry-Riddle, shot a 76 to pace the field on a day when everyone's scores were a bit elevated.
The Eagles from Arizona have a commanding lead on the field in large part due to the fact that they had each of the top-4 individual scorers.
Play continues at Hiddenbrooke on Tuesday.
