SANTA ROSA, Calif. – The Western Washington University women's golf team is in fourth place out of 14 teams following the opening round of the Sonoma State Fall Invitational.
 
The two-day 36-hole tournament concludes Tuesday with the final round on the par 72 Valley of the Moon Club.
 
WWU shot an opening-round team score of 24-over-par 312 and are within six shots of tournament leader Cal State San Marcos (+18, 306). Western's first round was highlighted by three hole-outs from off the green and with the four scoring players shooting even-par on the four par 3 holes. The Vikings also matched Chico State and Cal State San Marcos by rolling in nine birdies, tied for the most in the 14-team field.
 
"Today was a pretty solid day on a tricky golf course," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "I felt like we did a good job of managing the course to put us in situations to score well. We gave a few strokes away at the end of the round, but overall it was a solid round for the Vikings."
 
Freshman Claire Moon led the Vikings on Monday with a 4-over-par 76. Moon recorded three birdies in her opening round and was at 1-over-par through her first 15 holes before settling her final score. She is five shots back of individual medalist leader Anahi Servin of Academy of Art (-1, 71).
 
Junior Megan Billeter is tied for 16th following a 6-over-par 78 and junior Sarah Shea and freshman Jaclyn Yoo are just outside the top 20 tied for 22nd at 7-over-par 79. Sophomore Sophia Schmidt is tied for 42nd in the 80-player field at 10-over-par 82.
 
"Claire chipped in for birdie on her opening hole, Sophia holed a shot for birdie from 50 yards away and Jaclyn chipped in for birdie today," added Bennett. "We'll look to continue this trend tomorrow in the final round."
 
The final round of the tournament will feature a shotgun start at 8:30 am, with the Vikings paired with Cal State San Marcos, Menlo College and host Sonoma State on the first three holes.

When in Northern California, one must check out the Golden Gate Bridge, right?!?!?@WWUGolf made a little drive south from Santa Rosa to play tourist. pic.twitter.com/iqkyxICpJp

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) October 5, 2021

  Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard following the first round of the Sonoma State Fall Invitational at Valley of the Moon Club in Santa Rosa, California:
 

SONOMA STATE FALL INVITATIONAL Valley of the Moon Club  »  Santa Rosa, CA Par 72  »  6,032 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
4th	Western Washington	+24	312	--	312
T9th	Claire Moon	+4	76	--	76
T16th	Megan Billeter	+6	78	--	78
T22nd	Sarah Shea	+7	79	--	79
T22nd	Jaclyn Yoo	+7	79	--	79
T42nd	Sophia Schmidt	+10	82	--	82
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1.	Cal State San Marcos	+18	306	--	306
2.	Menlo College	+20	308	--	308
3.	Sonoma State	+22	310	--	310
4.	Western Washington	+24	312	--	312
5.	Academy of Art	+28	316	--	316
	Cal State East Bay	+28	316	--	316
	Holy Names	+28	316	--	316
8.	Point Loma	+29	317	--	317
9.	Dominican (CA)	+33	321	--	321
10.	Cal State Los Angeles	+38	326	--	326
11.	Chico State	+41	329	--	329
12.	Saint Martin's	+45	333	--	333
13.	Hawai'i Pacific	+47	335	--	335
14.	Hawai'i Hilo	+58	346	--	346