PALM DESERT, Calif. – Junior
Ella Wong tied a pair of Washington and Lee women's golf program records by firing an opening-round 69 (-3) to lead the way on the first day of the NCAA Preview.
TEAM & INDIVIDUAL LEADERS THRU ROUND 1:
- Wong is in a five-way tie atop the individual leaderboard after a 3-under 69 in round one. Pacing the field with Wong is Emma Wong of Carnegie Mellon, Zimo Li of Emory, Alexis Haller of RMC and Jiayi Fu of NYU.
- The Generals, as a team, shot a 5-over 293 to finish the first round in a tie with Washington (Mo.) and No. 12 Randolph-Macon for fifth place.
- No. 2 Carnegie Mellon (281, -7) holds a four-shot lead over No. 1 Emory after day one. No. 10 NYU is next in third place at even par, with No. 5 Pomona-Pitzer in fourth at 2-over.
W&L ROUND 1 HIGHLIGHTS:
- Wong was steady all round with 13 pars in addition to four birdies and just one bogey. She shot 1-under on the front nine and a bogey-free 2-under on the back nine. Wong had an 82 percent greens in regulation rate and an 82 percent up-and-down rate.
- Sophomore Berkeley Bundy ranks second among Generals and 27th overall at 2-over (74). Bundy made three birdies and shot 1-over par on both the front and back nines. Bundy hit 70 percent of her fairways was 5-of-9 on her up-and-downs.
- Senior Julia Haetzel and first-year Toral Bhatt both trail Bundy by one shot and are in 33rd overall. Both players recorded two birdies apiece, one each on the front and back nines. Haetzel hit her fairways at a 93 percent clip, while Bhatt hit 64 percent of her fairways and 72 percent greens in regulation.
- Rounding out the starting lineup for W&L was first-year Mackenzie Cline in 61st at 7-over (79). Making her collegiate debut, Cline made one birdie on the day which came on the par-4 10th hole.
- Sophomore Alex Crews, who competed as an individual, matched Cline's 7-over 79 on Saturday. After being at 6-over par through six holes, Crews settled in to make par on 11 of her final 12 holes. She shot a 1-over 37 on the back nine.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Wong's first-round score of 69 ties Haetzel and Caroline Holloway '18 for the lowest single-round score in program history, and matches Holloway's single-round record for par scoring (-3).
- As a team, the Generals produced the second-best single-round score in program history at 293, trailing the score of 290 produced during the second round at the 2022-23 MCC Women's Intercollegiate. W&L's 5-over par performance on Saturday is also a program all-time second best.
- The Generals rank fourth in the field in pars (56) and fifth in birdies (12).
UP NEXT:
The second and final round of the NCAA Preview will be played on Sunday with players teeing off at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
