North Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke struggled in Friday’s first round of the Women’s NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
The No. 12 Tar Heels stand 19th and the No. 8 Demon Deacons are tied for 27th in the 30-team field. The top 15 teams and nine individuals will make the 54-hole cut for the final round.
Wake got solid, if unspectacular rounds from Chutimon Rujiranan, who led the team with 1-over-par 73, and Winston-Salem’s Macy Pate and Chloe Kovelesky, who each shot 74.
But the Deacons had to count one of the 77s posted by Winston-Salem native Morgan Ketchum and Anne-Sterre Den Dunnen as part of their 12-over 300 total. Ketchum’s round blew up when she made 10 on the short-par 16th, two holes after a double-bogey.
The Tar Heels shot 5-over 293, led by Reagan Southerland’s 72. Megan Streicher, UNC’s top player, shot 75. Avery McCrery shot 71 for No. 10 Duke, tied for 16th at 291.
Southern Cal was the first-round leader at 7-under 281, followed by Stanford at 282 and Oklahoma State at 283. Ellie Bushnell of Oklahoma State and Megha Ganne of Stanford were individual leaders at 68.
