First-Round Results

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. " Led by Tatiana Wijaya's 2-under 70, the ninth-seeded Pepperdine women's golf team had a huge first round at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional on Monday, putting the Waves into first place and building a double-digit cushion toward advancing to the NCAA Championships.

The top six teams will move on, and after a 1-under 287 at the par-72 UNM Championship Course, the #36 Waves have put themselves into a great position with two rounds to play.

Pepperdine leads top-ranked Stanford by three shots, while #6 USC, #26 California and #40 Washington are eight shots back. #9 Duke and #48 Campbell are tied for sixth place, 10 strokes behind Pepperdine, in what would be the final qualifying position.

The score of 1-under was the fourth-best round in Pepperdine's NCAA Regional history.

"Our players took advantage of a full week of practice after finals to prepare every part of their game and it paid off today," Pepperdine Coach Laurie Gibbs said. "We benefitted from an early tee time today and look forward to playing two more solid rounds."

Reports from the course were that high winds picked up over the course of the day. The Waves were one of the first teams off the tee at 7:30 a.m. MT and may have avoided the worst of it. Still, they far outplayed the competition that was on the course at the same time.

Tuesday's second round will begin at 8:09 a.m. PT for the Waves, who will be paired with Stanford and USC. The third and final round is Wednesday.

Wijaya (Jakarta, Indonesia) stands in second place after a 2-under 70, and she was one of only three players to go below par. The Pepperdine junior began her day going birdie-bogey on the first two holes. She then had seven straight pars, followed by birdies on 10 and 11, and finished with another seven consecutive pars.

Sophomores Hira Naveed (Perth, Australia) and Patricia Wong (Walnut, Calif./Walnut HS) both birdied 18 to get back to even-par, putting them into a tie for fourth place after opening-round 72s. Naveed had two birdies and Wong had three in her last five holes, including 17 and 18.

Freshman Momoka Kobori (Rangiora, New Zealand) is tied for 14th place after a 1-over 73 and junior Katherine Zhu (Vancouver, B.C.) is tied for 73rd after a 79.

Pepperdine is playing in its 19th consecutive NCAA Regional. The Waves have advanced to the NCAA Championships 11 times, the last one coming in 2012.

The NCAA Championships are May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

Team Standings: 1. Pepperdine 287; 2. Stanford 290; T3. USC 295; T3. California 295; T3. Washington 295; T6. Campbell 297; T6. Duke 297; 8. North Carolina State 301; 9. SMU 302; 10. Miami 303; 11. Oklahoma State 304; 12. Denver 305; 13. Illinois 306; 14. New Mexico State 307; 15. Cal Poly 308; 16. Sacramento State 310; 17. Houston Baptist 314; 18. Texas Southern 365.

Individual Leaders: 1. Laura Kowohl (North Carolina State) 69; 2. Tatiana Wijaya (Pepperdine) 70; 3. Albane Valenzuela (Stanford) 71; T4. 10 players tied at 72, including Hira Naveed and Patricia Wong (Pepperdine).

Other Pepperdine Scores: T14. Momoka Kobori 73; T73. Katherine Zhu 79.