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

OREGON CITY, ORE. -- Willamette University shot 325 in the first round of the Northwest Conference Fall Classic in women's golf on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Stone Creek Golf Club. The Bearcats were in third place, trailing only Whitman College at 306 and George Fox University at 310.

The top individual for the Bearcats on Saturday was Jessi Weaver (Fr., Lincoln City, OR/Taft HS), who was one of five golfers tied for seventh place with a 79. Taneesh Sra (So., Fremont, CA/Mission San Jose HS) from Willamette was 12th overall after shooting an 80.

Whitman, George Fox and Willamette were followed in the team standings by Whitworth University in fourth place at 329. Linfield College was fifth at 347, while Lewis & Clark College held sixth place at 350. Pacific Lutheran University was seventh at 356, Pacific University was eighth at 367, and the University of Puget Sound was ninth at 408.

Sydney Maluenda of George Fox was perched atop the leaderboard with a 1-under-par 71. She held a two-stroke advantage over Kelly Sweeney from Whitman, who carded a 73. Abigail Heringer of Linfield was third with a 74.

Fourth place was held by Katie Zajicek from Whitman with a 75. Three shots behind Zajicek were Melissa Nugent of GFU and Madeline Ottosson of Pacific, who were tied for fifth at 78.

Weaver and Sra were joined by Elise Levy (So., Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS), Mckenzie Weinhold (Jr., Placerville, CA/El Dorado HS/Univ. of Nevada-Reno) and LettaJoe Gallup (Jr., Alameda, CA/Holy Names HS) in Willamette's lineup. Levy and Weinhold each carded an 83. Gallup recorded a 94.

The NWC Fall Classic will conclude with the second round at Stone Creek on Sunday. The tournament is worth one-fourth of the overall 2013-14 Northwest Conference title. In addition to the Fall Classic, teams will be competing for one-fourth of the title at the NWC Spring Classic and for one-half of the title at the NWC Championship Tournament.