Long Beach State finished day one of the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in ninth place as the 49ers carded a 34-over par 322 at the par-72, 6,136 yard Sahalee Country Club.

California leads the field of 13 teams with an 8-over 296 as the Golden Bears hold a five-stroke lead over second place San Francisco (301) and 12-strokes over third place Stanford (308).

LBSU was led by sophomore Noelle Zavaleta as she finished tied for 20th with a six-over 78. Zavaleta recorded only two birdies for the round while committing a total of four bogey’s and two double-bogey’s on the back nine.

Senior Brenda Chhuor and junior Reina Rogers tied for 38th as both players finished with a nine-over 81.

Freshman Simone Hoey finished fourth for The Beach as she tied for 49th with a 10-over 82. Hoey’s scorecard had six bogey’s and two double-bogey’s for the day.

Playing in her first collegiate tournament, freshman Reece Feducia tied for 68th with a 17-over 89.

Natasha Podmore of San Francisco sits on top the leaderboard with an even-72 as she holds a one-stroke lead over five other players that are tied for second.

“I know we can drop a few more strokes in the next few rounds,” said head coach Joey Cerulle. “But, I’m impressed with how we are battling this juggernaut of a golf course.”

Second round action continues tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. with live scoring on golfstat.com

Reports From LBSU