SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The No. 8 Virginia women’s golf finished the first round of the NCAA Championships in 18th place after shooting 16-over 304 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Cavaliers played in the afternoon wave when winds consistently blew 20 miles per hour with gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour.

Top-ranked Stanford leads the field after shooting 1-over 289. Only eight shots separate the teams in the field between fourth and 18th place. Just five players managed to break par in the 132-player field.

“Last night we talked about the fact you can’t win the tournament on day one but you can put yourself in good position,” said UVA head coach Ria Scott. “I’m not sure we put ourselves in good position, but the scores are so bunched up, we definitely still have a chance. This team is no stranger to making a comeback. They’re really good over a few rounds and I think we’ll see a team on Saturday that’s not worried and will come out here and gain a few shots on the field.”

Following 54 holes of stroke play, the 24-team field will be cut to 15 teams for the fourth round. At that point the individual champion will be crowned and the top eight teams will advance to match play that starts Monday.

Virginia was led by graduate student Beth Lillie who shot 1-over 73 to finish the day tied for 18th place. Lillie’s round featured four birdies and five bogeys. Last year she was ninth at the event which was also held at Grayhawk.

“It’s really, really tough with the wind like it was last year,” Lillie said. “If you miss the fairway, you’re in thick rough. If you miss the green, you’re in thick rough. It is a very demanding course. When you play in wind like this, it is double as demanding. I think we’re excited to be able to play in the morning tomorrow.”

UVA’s other first-round scores included a 2-over 74 from freshman Amanda Sambach, 77 from sophomore Jennifer Cleary while senior Riley Smyth shot 80 and junior Celeste Valinho posted a score of 83.

The Cavaliers will start their second round at 7:30 a.m. while paired with Alabama and Arizona State. Those teams will start play on the first tee. Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com.

NCAA Championships
Grayhawk Golf Club
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Par 71, 6,340 yards
First Round Results

 Team Results
 1. Stanford           289
 2. Texas A&M          292
 3. UCLA               295
 4. Auburn             296
 4. LSU                296
 4. Florida State      296
 7. Oregon             297
 8. Alabama            298
 8. USC                298
10. Mississippi State  299
11. TCU                300
12. Wake Forest        301
12. Michigan           301
12. Purdue             301
12. Baylor             301
16. Arizona State      302
17. Georgia            303
18. Virginia           304
19. Texas              305
20. South Carolina     306
21. Oklahoma State     307
21. San Jose State     307
21. Arkansas           307
24. Vanderbilt         308 

Individual Leaders
1. Rose Zhang, Stanford      68
2. Zoe Slaughter, Texas A&M  69

Virginia Results
 18. Beth Lillie       73 
 27. Amanda Sambach    74
 81. Jennifer Cleary   77
109. Riley Smyth       80
126. Celeste Valinho   83