PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA – No. 19 Tiger Women's Golf in second after day one of Centre College Classic.

The Tigers battled through challenging conditions to secure a second-place standing after the opening round, posting a team score of 306 (+22) in a competitive 12-team field. Seventh-ranked WashU leads at 291 (+7), while second-ranked Carnegie Mellon sits just ahead of Trinity in third at 302 (+18). Huntington (310, +26) and Methodist (315, +31) round out the top five.

Jessica Mason (Westminster, Colorado / Holy Family) paced the Tigers with an impressive 73, delivering a steady round that featured par or better on 15 holes. She closed in style with a birdie on hole 18 to cap her day. Mason Fikes (Dallas, Texas / Plano West) added a 77, highlighted by a strong back nine in which she played just one-over with a birdie and six pars.

Lauren Huddleston (Anthem, Arizona / Boulder Creek) and Natalie Lewis (El Paso, Texas / Coronado) each turned in rounds of 78. Huddleston was consistent throughout, recording 12 pars split evenly across both nines, while Lewis matched that total with 12 pars of her own, including seven on the front nine. Naaz Mehta (Newtown, Pennsylvania / Council Rock North) finished the scoring with an 83, collecting eight pars on the day.

Coach Speak

"The girls played hard today," said Head Coach Shelby DeVore. "The conditions were tough, and we battled rain throughout the round. I'm excited for the opportunity to come back tomorrow and compete for the win."

Looking Ahead

The Tigers will continue their tournament tomorrow, with round two starting at 8:00 AM.