STEVENS, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's golf team placed three inside the top 14 and ties and received career-best performances from two of them on the first day of the Centennial Conference Championship on Saturday, after which the Bears found themselves in fifth place with plenty of room for upward mobility.
Ursinus carded a 375, easily its best score of the spring and its second-lowest ever at the conference tournament, to land just five strokes back of Dickinson and a dozen of McDaniel. Gettysburg sat atop the leaderboard at 328, with Muhlenberg (352) a distant second; the Mules were followed by McDaniel (363), Dickinson (370), Ursinus (375), Franklin & Marshall (410), and Susquehanna (453).
Gettysburg's Sarah Hansen will take a six-shot lead into Sunday's final round after signing for a 3-over 75 at Foxchase Golf Club.
Sophomore Rebecca Chiger was the top performer for the Bears, firing an opening-round 84 to finish the first day in sixth, just three strokes behind the second-place golfer. Chiger finished with seven pars and a birdie on the par-3 13th hole.
Junior Sarah Thompson selected a perfect time to play the best round of her career. The junior tied for seventh with an 85, five shots better than her previous best three weeks ago at the Millersville Invitational. Thompson registered seven pars – five on the back nine.
Sophomore Emily McGarrigle concluded the day in a tie for 14th place with a 91. She finished with six pars, including four on the back-nine.
Junior Shelby Bryant joined Thompson in eclipsing her previous career low, shooting a 115 that was also five strokes better than her former benchmark.
The CC Championship concludes on Sunday.