PALM DESERT, Calif. – First-year Toral Bhatt continued her recent hot streak on Tuesday, shooting 3-under (69) to lead outright after one round of play, while the Washington and Lee women's golf team sits in second place at 4-over (292).
 
COURSE STATS:

• Desert Willow Golf Resort – Mountain View Course | Palm Desert, Calif.
• Par 72 | 5,873 Yards
• Total Average Score: 73.27 (11 rounds)
• Round 1 Average Score: 73.27 (11 rounds)

TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL LEADERS THRU ROUND 1:

• No. 3 Carnegie Mellon holds the team lead through the opening round with a 3-over score of 291. The Generals are one shot behind the Tartans, with No. 1 Emory an additional shot off the lead.
• Bhatt is the individual leader after 18 holes of play at 3-under par. Jessica Mason (Trinity [Texas]), Alyssa Lim (CMU) and Erin Donovan (Piedmont) are in a three-way tie for second at 2-under par, with another six players tied for fifth place at 1-under.

W&L ROUND 1 PLAYER SUMMARIES:

• Bhatt was scorching hot out of the gates, with a 4-under 32 on the back nine, which came on four birdies and five pars. Bhatt opened on Hole 7 and carded three straight pars before getting to the back nine. She then went 1-over with one birdie on Holes 1-6 to finish her round.
• First-year Bella Scucchi was also under par across her first 12 holes with three birdies. She was 2-under (34) on the back nine before she added another birdie on the par-4 fourth hole to finish the opening round at even par and in a tie for 11th.
• Sophomore Berkeley Bundy joined Bhatt and Scucchi with consecutive pars to open the day on Holes 7-9. She went on to sink two birdies in her round and will head into Day 2 at 3-over par.
• First-year Mackenzie Cline was the fourth General to score for the team and is just one shot behind Bundy. Cline had one birdie each and shot 38 on the front and back nines.
• Senior Julia Haetzel completed the W&L lineup and went 7-over for her first round. She matched Bhatt's birdie on the par-5 sixth hole, the only Generals to do so, and carded a 3-over (39) on the front nine.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Generals' team score of 292 in Tuesday's opening round marked their second-best team score of the season. They recorded a 290 (+2) on October 6 in the first round of the Tartan Invitational.
• W&L is Top 5 across the board in par-3, par-4 and par-5 scoring averages, including second on par-3s (3.20) and tied for second on par-5s (4.80). The Generals also had the fourth-most birdies (14) and only one double-bogeys or worse, the best in the field.
• Bhatt finished the day in a three-way tie for first in par-4 scoring (3.80), while Cline was one shot off the top mark in par-3 scoring (2.75).

UP NEXT:
The Generals will switch to the Firecliff Course at Desert Willow Golf Resort on Wednesday for the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship, and will tee off on the first hole. Tee times can be found here.
 

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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.