COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho – A batch of birdies throughout the day for Lauren Lee and steady shooting on the back nine for Zoe Garcia set the pace for Seattle Pacific in the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championships.
 
ROUND 1 IN A NUTSHELL
Falcons sophomore Lee carded five birdies on Monday is tied for third place at 1-over-par 73 through 18 holes of the 54-hole tournament at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. That has her three shots behind leader Kelsie Inouye of Saint Martin's, who came in at 2-under-par 70.
 
Western Washington's Lauren F. Lee (who has a different middle initial than Seattle Pacific's Lauren J. Lee) is second at even-par 72. Joining SPU's Lee in the tie for third at 73 is Simon Fraser's Meera Minhas.
 
Garcia, a junior, recorded nine straight pars on Nos. 9-17 before closing with a birdie on the 460-yard par-5 final hole. That helped put her in a four-way tie for fifth place at 4-over 76 heading into Tuesday's second round.
 
Sparked by their performances, the Falcons completed the first day in fifth among the six teams at 314 for the top four totals among their five competitors. Simon Fraser, seeking its fourth consecutive team title, checked in at 303. Then it's a three-way logjam for second place with Montana State Billings, Saint Martin's and Western Washington, all at 309.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS: COACH TYLER COPP
"Lauren and Zoe had great rounds today, Lauren was really solid all day and never came close to making a double bogey. Her back nine was really good and she finished strong with a birdie on 17.
 
"Zoe's bogey-free back nine was really good. She had two mistakes early (in the round), but bounced back. I told the team it's a long event and you've just got to roll with it.
 
"It's all jumbled up (in the team standings), which is what I thought it would be at this tournament. We're in good position. I feel like we can move up a little bit. Overall, it was a pretty solid average day."

HOW IT HAPPENED
-- Coming off her first college victory at last week's Chico State Invitational – a performance which earned her the GNAC Player of the Week award for the third time this season that was announced on Monday – Lee bogeyed two of her first four holes. But she then had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7, the second of which was on a 345-yard par-4.
-- She finished the front nine at 1-over 36. After a bogey to start the back nine, Lee again strung together consecutive birdies. The first of those was on No. 11, a 483-yard, par-5, the third-longest hole on the course.
-- Her final birdie of the day on No. 17, a 228-yard, par-4. She then made par-5 on the 460-yard final hole, closing out an even-par 37 on the back nine.
-- Garcia had a mini rough stretch on Nos. 7 and 8 (double-bogey, bogey). But she was solid the rest of the way with her nine consecutive pars and then birdie.
-- That included making par-3 on the famous No. 14 "floating green," which was set at 144 yards on Monday.
-- Falcons freshman Stella Johnson is tied for 21st with an 82. She had one birdie in her opening round.
-- Completing the first-round team scoring was sophomore Natalie Eklund at 83, putting her in 24th place. She birdied No. 13, then joined Garcia in making par on the floating green 14th.

QUOTABLE: LAUREN LEE
"It worked out pretty well. My shots felt really consistent, and I felt like I had pretty good control of my shots," Lee said. "I had back-to-back birdies on the front nine and the back nine. The back nine felt really solid."
 
Lee had had her sights set on the Coeur d'Alene course.
 
"I've thought about this course over the season, and I just wanted to come up and play smart, and I did that for the most part," she said. "I'm really excited (for Tuesday). I left a lot out there today. I want to do better for my personal feel of the game, and I just know that I can do it."
 
QUOTABLE: ZOE GARCIA
"For me on the back nine, I was really consistent," Garcia said. "I only missed one green on the back, which really helped me to get into the flow.
 
She is hoping to carry over Monday's back-nine performance into Tuesday's second round.
 
"I started to kind of get into the groove and get more confident in my golf," Garcia said. "I just want to keep up the kind of pace I finished on and stay consistent with that."
 
BEYOND THE SCORECARD
-- After last year's opening round, Lee, then playing for WWU, was tied for 14th place with a 9-over 81. She eventually finished tied for 10th with a 156 in what then was a two-round tournament.
-- Garcia shot 80 in last year's first round and was tied for 10th. She wound up 21st with a 164.
-- Lee's five birdies was tied for the most of anyone on Monday. She had three in last year's tournament. Her most in any previous tournament this spring was four in the first round of the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout on Feb. 23 in Alameda, California. (WWU's Lee also had five on Monday.)
-- Garcia's 14 pars tied for the most (with two other players) in the opening round.
 
UP NEXT
The second round of the tournament is set for Tuesday. The opening tee time is set for 8:58 a.m. PDT, and play will begin from Hole 1.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S GOLF
GNAC Championships
Monday, April 20, 2026
The Coeur d'Alene Resort / Par-72 / 5,802 yards
 
Team standings – 1, Simon Fraser 303; T2, Montana State Billings, Saint Martin's and Western Washington 309; 5, Seattle Pacific 314; 6, Northwest Nazarene 334.
 
Top 10 – 1, Kelsie Inouye (StM) 70; 2, Lauren F. Lee (WWU) 72; T3, Lauren J. Lee (SPU) and Meera Minhas (Simon) 73; T5, Zoe Garcia (SPU), Caroline Caven (NNU), Dana Smith (Simon) and Kyleigh McGowen (MSUB) 76; T9, Izzy Ferguson (Simon), Cadence Ko (Simon), Ella Tannenberger (MSUB) and Orraya Jan Tipasathien (MSUB) 77.

Other SPU – T21, Stella Johnson 82; 24, Natalie Eklund 83; 29, Anika Schau 90.
 
 
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