CARLSBAD, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's golf team got the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship underway on Friday morning as the Waves posted a 291 to tie for 15^th after 18-holes at the par-72, 6,297-yard La Costa Champions Course.
 
The Waves got off to a hot start early in the morning and were in the lead through much of the front nine, led by senior Kaleiya Romero with a 4-under output in her first eight bogeyless holes and junior Lauren Gomez with three birdies in her first four holes.  Though the back nine would be plagued with bogeys and Pepperdine would even out before finishing out the round.  Gomez, along with sophomore Yingzhi Zhu, would lead the Waves, tied for 38^th, to end the round.
 
Clemson has a one-stroke lead over Texas A&M for first-place after marking an 8-under 280, while the three teams tied for third finished the round 3-under.  Florida State's Lottie Woad is leading the individual field with a 7-under 65. On Sunday after three complete rounds, the top-15 teams will advance to the fourth round of stroke play. 
 
The Waves will once again be paired with Virginia and Mississippi State tomorrow, though the groups will tee off the 10^th hole starting at 12:22 p.m.
 
PLAYER SCORES

• Junior Lauren Gomez (Murrieta, Calif.) shot an even 72 to open the tournament tied for 38^th.  She started off the day with three birdies in her first four holes, though took the turn 1-under.  She had another pair of birdies on the back nine for five total.
• Sophomore Yingzhi Zhu (Nanjing, China) is tied for 38^th as she also stayed even with par and finished with a 72 after 18-holes for her best round of the season.  Though she bogeyed the first hole of the day, she picked up a pair of birdies on holes four and five to get back on track.  After taking the turn even, she posted another duo of birdies on the back, though a pair of bogeys kept her at par through the end of the round.
• Senior Lion Higo (Gold Coast, Australia) shot a 73 to end the round tied for 58^th.  She began the day with a bogey, but had a pair of birdies on the front to help the cause.  She ended her final seven holes without an error to finish strong.
• Senior Kaleiya Romero (San Jose, Calif.) got off to a hot start to open the round with four birdies in her first eight bogeyless holes.  Though a bogey on the ninth and more on the back nine put her tied for 75^th with a 74.
• Sophomore Jeneath Wong (Melbourne, Australia) finished tied for 132^nd with a 78.

 
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. Clemson 280; 2. Texas A&M 281; T3. Stanford 285; T3. Auburn 285; T3. Northwestern 285; T6. San Jose State 286; T6. Duke 286; T6. Arizona State 286; T9. Oklahoma State 287; T9. Mississippi State 287; T9. Florida State 287; T12. Michigan State 288; T12. Arkansas 288; 14. LSU 289; T15. Pepperdine 291; T15. UCLA 291; 17. Oregon 294; T18. Purdue 295; T18. Wake Forest 295; 20. South Carolina 296; T21. Texas 299; T21. USC 299; T21. Oregon State 299; T21. Ole Miss 299; T25. Vanderbilt 300; T25. Baylor 300; T27. Virginia 301; T27. North Carolina 301; 29. SMU 302; 30. Tulsa 303.
 
Individual Scores: 1. Lottie Woad (Florida State) 65; 2. Isabella Rawl (Clemson) 66; T3. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (OKSU) 68; T3. Adela Cernousek (TAMU) 68; T3. Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (TAMU) 68; T3. Sophie Linder (Ole Miss) 68; T3. Louisa Carlbom (SJSU) 68.