Owens Cross Roads, Ala. – Senior Elizabeth Lohbauer and junior Sadler Miller both carded opening-round scores of 4-over par 76 on Friday to lead Western Carolina in the first round of “The Robbie,” hosted by Lipscomb at the par-72, 6,226-yard RTJ Golf Trail at Hampton Cove. The Catamounts sit in fifth place just five strokes outside of a third-place tie with two rounds to play.
 
Lohbauer had a quiet first round, charting 13 pars and a birdie against one double-bogey and three bogeys through the first 18 holes. Miller overcame a 5-over par front nine with a 1-under back with four birdies against three bogeys to shoot 76.
 
Catamount freshmen Ella Kozak and Annalee Caveney posted rounds of 78 to sit in a tie for 26th with Kozak carding a trio of birdies and Caveney rallying from a 6-over par front nine to post nine-consecutive pars on the back nine. Rounding out WCU’s scoring five is freshman Madison Lehr in a tie for 28th with a score of 79. Lehr likewise played the back nine at even par countering a bogey with a birdie.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, senior Kaitlyn Wingnean shooting 82 to sit in a tie for 33rd. The Canadian-born striker had 11 pars on Friday as she rallied from a 7-over front nine to trim four strokes off the back at 3-over par.
 
Nationally-ranked Louisville paces the field by nine strokes after the opening 18 holes as the Cardinals posted a first-round score of 5-over par 293. Murray State sits in second with a team score of 302, followed by Morehead State and Lipscomb tied for third at 303. WCU is fifth with a score of 308 and Bellarmine rounding out the six-team field at 322.
 
A pair of individual competitors pace the field as Louisville’s Gabbi Bentancourt posted a 2-under par 70 to lead Angela Tolentino of Vanderbilt by a stroke in the runner-up spot after 18 holes.
 
Round two opens with set tee times off the front nine beginning at 9:30 a.m. WCU is paired with golfers from Morehead State and Bellarmine in the day’s first pairings. Live scoring is available online through the Scoreboard app powered by Clippd and linked at CatamountSports.com.
 
5 – Western Carolina – 308 (+20)
T17 – Sadler Miller – 76 (+4)
T17 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 76 (+4)
T26 – Ella Kozak – 78 (+6)
T26 – Annalee Caveney – 78 (+6)
T28 – Madison Lehr – 79 (+7)
T33 – Kaitlyn WIngnean (ind.) – 82 (+10)