WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.—First-year Alice Zhu (Orlando, Fla.) played her final 14 holes in 1-under on the way to shooting a 4-over 75 to help the Babson College women’s golf team slide into fourth place after round one of the Williams Invitational at Taconic Golf Club on Saturday afternoon. 

The Beavers posted a team score of 21-over 305 and are 10 shots behind No. 12 Wellesley, which shot 11-over 295 in the opening round. No. 17 NYU and No. 11 Amherst are tied for second place at 17-over 301, while No. 6 Williams is a shot behind Babson at 22-over at the midway point of the tournament. 

Zhu opened with three bogeys and a double bogey over her first four holes and was sitting at 5-over before making her first birdie of the day at the par-4 seventh. She also birdied the par-4 16th and the par-5 18th holes to move into a tie for 10th position at 4-over. 

First-year Camila Amaya (Singer Island, Fla.) made three birdies on the way to shooting a 5-over 76, while classmate Jennie Pan (Delray Beach, Fla.) was steady making 13 pars and five bogeys on the way to carding a 76 to grab a share of 17th place. Fellow rookie Hannah McCarthy (Toronto, Ontario) made a pair of early birdies and is tied for 35th at 7-over after shooting a 78. 

First-year Molly McCarthy (Toronto, Ontario) shot a 14-over 85 in her collegiate debut for the Beavers. 

Final round play at Taconic GC begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. 

TOURNAMENT NOTES

•    Eight of the 23 teams competing in the Williams Invitational are nationally-ranked. 

•    Babson shot 342-330 in its first visit to Taconic GC last September and Saturday’s score of 305 is the second lowest in program history behind the 298 it shot in the final round of the Polar Bear Shootout last Sunday. 

•    The Beavers combined to play the three par 5s at Taconic at 3-under in Saturday’s first round.