COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – Western Washington University junior Hannah Drake shot a 6-over-par 77 in the opening round of the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championships on Monday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.
The Vikings are in 3rd place after the first 18 holes of the 36-hole tournament. WWU turned in a 35-over-par team score of 319, 7 strokes back of 2nd-place Concordia (+28, 312) and 17 back of championships leader Simon Fraser (+18, 302).
Drake (Pocatello, ID/Century) is tied for 4th place in the 30-player field. Her 6-over-par 77 was highlighted by a playing the final 10 holes at 1-over-par. She finished her round with 3 birdies to tie for the most by any player in the tournament field.
“Hannah had a rough stretch towards the end of her front nine, but battled back and was solid on her finish,” said head coach Bo Stephan. “She turned in a really good round today and I am proud of how she hung tough and didn’t let the round get away from her early on.”
Freshman Megan Billeter (Spokane, WA/Mt. Spokane) is in 9th place recording a 8-over-par 79. The freshman was a 4-over-par through the first 15 holes, but finished her round 4-over-par on the final three holes.
Senior Jenn Paul (Bellingham, WA) is tied for 10th place at 9-over-par 80. Freshman Katelann Soth (Bonney Lake, WA/Kentwood) is tied for 16th (+12, 83) and junior Annie Leete (Oak Harbor, WA/Eastern Washington) is tied for 28th (+17, 88) to round out the WWU contingent.
“We unfortunately had some big numbers and it adds up pretty quickly,” added Stephan. “We have nothing to lose tomorrow and need to keep our foot on the gas and go after it. We just have to stay in the moment. I feel like they are hitting the ball well, just not scoring.”
Simon Fraser’s Estee Leung, the Clan’s No. 5 player, leads the tournament firing an even-par 71, with Concordia’s Caitlyn Villatora 3-strokes back (+3, 74) heading into Tuesday’s final round.
Tuesday’s final round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 am off the No. 10 tee, with the Vikings starting their tee times at 8:25 am. The final round of the GNAC Championships can be followed via the Live Leaderboard at Golfstat.com.
Here is a look at WWU’s team and individual performances from Monday’s first round and the team leaderboard from the championships:
