STOCKTON, Calif.---The Biola women's golf team came ready to compete, embracing a beautiful day of sunshine and clear skies at the Brookside Country Club.

"Really solid day for all five of our players," stated head coach Jane Carr. "Most of the season we were fighting down the stretch to get a fourth score in the 70's and today we have all five players shooting 75 or under. "

Carr continued, "It just shows me how far these players have come this year and how much they want to be the first team in the history of the program to advance to nationals." 

The Eagles had a strong team performance, ending their first round two-above-par 290 in sixth place. Biola was just two strokes away from matching their NCAA DII best single-round score of 288 from the 2022 NCAA DII West Regional at the Brookside Country Club.

The team leader of the West Regional after the first round was DBU with a team score of 282 (-6). West Texas A&M sat in second (284) and they were followed by third-place Cal State East Bay (287) and tied for fourth Oklahoma Christain and Colorado State-Pueblo (289).

The Eagles are in the hunt for a spot at the NCAA Championships where the top five teams and top two individuals not on an advancing team will compete at the Orange County National Golf Center in Orlando, Florida.

Brady Turnquist had a phenomenal round, shooting three-under-par 69 in her opening round of the West Regional. The Senior ends round one tied for fifth with West Texas A&M's Lorenza Perini. Additionally, Turnquist led the field with six birdies.

Turnquist trails the tournament's leading individual from Oklahoma Christian by two strokes. OCU's Sofia Benavides recorded five-under-par 67 in her first round.

Karis Haltom also had an incredible round, recording a personal best single-round score of 72-par. The Freshman concluded the first round tied for 13th on the leaderboard and with three birdies.

Melanie Reyes was BU's third-best, scoring two-above-par 74 which translated to T34 on the leaderboard. Reyes also had three birdies during her 18 holes.

Theresa Shaw and Rachel Shaw were T39 with single-round scores of 75. Rachel had two birdies throughout the day and Theresa had one.

"We know we still have a lot of golf ahead of us," concluded Carr. "We are just going to go out and play another day of golf on a beautiful golf course and see what happens."

Follow along with the women's golf team who competes in their second round tomorrow Tuesday, May 7 beginning at 8 a.m.