ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Sacramento State women's golf team is in 16th place after shooting 310 in the first round of the NCAA Albuquerque Regional on Monday at The Championship Course. The Hornets started slow, playing their first nine holes at 15-over before bouncing back to shoot 6-over on their final nine holes. The score leaves the team 23 strokes behind Pepperdine for the team lead and 13 strokes off of the pivotal sixth-best score needed to advance to the NCAA Championships.

"Obviously no one likes to be in 16th place, but I'm proud of how we played the last nine holes," Sacramento State head coach David Sutherland. "We simply need to be in more high-level tournaments like this and I think that after the team relaxed they played well."

All five Hornets golfers were tightly grouped with scores ranging from 76 to 80 in the opening round. Julia Becker led the team and is tied for 41st place. The sophomore was 3-over through her first three holes and eventually move to 5-over through seven holes. From there she birdied the par-5 18th and parred all nine holes on the front side of the course.

Freshman Nishtha Madan had a similar scorecard en route to a round of 77 which has her tied for 49th place. Madan had a birdie on the par-4 12th and five bogeys over her first nine holes. She played the front nine at 1-over with eight pars and a bogey on the par-4 fifth.

Astha Madan is tied for 63rd with a 78. Madan was 3-over on both halves of the course with three bogeys and six pars on each side. Chloe Bartek completed the scores for the team with a round of 79 to tie for 73rd place. Bartek had a double bogey on her second hole (No. 11) and stood at 6-over following a bogey on the first hole. A birdie on the par-3  third earned her a stroke back but she closed with bogeys on two of her final four holes.

Freshman Sofie Babic was the lone Hornet with multiple birdies in the round. Babic started with consecutive bogeys before a birdie on No.12. She was 4-over at the turn and remained there after a bogey on the par-5 first and a birdie on the par-4 fourth. Her day came to a close with four consecutive bogeys over holes 6-9.

Pepperdine, which is ranked 36th nationally, built a 3-shot lead over top-ranked Stanford for the team lead. USC, Cal and Washington are each tied for third place at 295 while Campbell and Duke are tied for sixth at 297.

Sacramento State will again be paired with Houston Baptist and Texas Southern during the second round on Tuesday. The teams will tee off from the 10th hole beginning at 8:09 a.m. PT.

NCAA ALBUQUERQUE REGIONAL
Albuquerque, N.M. | The Championship Course
Par 72 | 6,637 Yards

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 TOP FIVE
1. Laura Kowohl, NC State, 69
2. Tatiana Wijaya, Pepperdine, 70
3. Albane Valenzuela, Stanford, 71
T4. Hira Naveed, Pepperdine, 72
T4. Maria Herraez Galvez, Cal, 72
T4. Casey Danielson, Stanford, 72
T4. Victoria Morgan, USC, 72
T4. Julianne Alvarez, Washington, 72
T4. Desiree Andersson, Campbell, 72
T4. Shannon Aubert, Stanford, 72
T4. Marthe Wold, Cal, 72
T4. Patricia Wong, Pepperdine, 72
T4. Sarah Rhee, Washington, 72

SACRAMENTO STATE SCORES
T41. Julia Becker 76
T49. Nishtha Madan 77
T63. Astha Madan 78
T73. Chloe Bartek 79
T80. Sofie Babic 80