By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

BREMERTON, WASH. -- Led by freshman Elise Levy (Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS), the Willamette University women's golf team held third place after the first day of the Northwest Conference Spring Classic at the Gold Mountain Golf Course on Saturday, April 6.

George Fox University led the team standings with a score of 322. Whitman College was second at 327 and Willamette followed at 344.

The next three teams were separated from each other by just three strokes. Pacific University was fourth, as the Boxers earned a score of 370. Pacific Lutheran University was fifth at 371 and Whitworth University was sixth at 373. Linfield College was seventh with a score of 392 and the University of Puget Sound was eighth at 434.

Levy's 79 put her in a tie with Catelyn Webber from Whitman for fourth place on the individual leaderboard. Chelsea Bayley from Whitworth owned first place with a 75. Following Bayley in second place was Kelsey Morrison of George Fox with a 76, while Kelly Sweeney of Whitman was third with a 78. A total of 38 golfers completed the course.

In addition to Levy, other golfers competing for Willamette were Mckenzie Weinhold (So., Placerville, CA/El Dorado HS/Univ. of Nevada-Reno), Taneesh Kaur Sra (Fr., Fremont, CA/Mission San Jose HS), LettaJoe Gallup (So., Alameda, CA/Holy Names HS) and Mele Ana Kastner (So., Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS).

Weinhold carded a 79 over the 18 holes on Saturday to earn part of three-way tie for ninth place. Sra shot an 89, while Gallup finished the round at 93 and Kastner registered a 98.

Action will continue on Sunday, April 7 with the final 18 holes. The NWC Spring Classic counts for one-fourth of the overall NWC women's golf title. The NWC Fall Classic also counts for one-fourth, while the NWC Championship Tournament, which Willamette will host at the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) course on April 20-21, is worth one-half.