Jupiter, Fla. – In its first competitive action since Japan in early September, the Western Carolina women's golf team was hot out of the gates on Monday and finished the day in second place through 36 holes in trying to successfully defend its team title at the 2023 Jupiter Women's Invitational.
 
WCU matched its program-low single-round score of 278 in the opening round to lead after 18 holes, sliding to second place with a score of 573 with the final round at the par-70, 5,890-yard Match Course at the Jonathan's Landing Golf Club scheduled for Tuesday. Sophomore Brie Mapanao leads the Catamount scoring five in third place heading down the stretch, five strokes off the pace with a two-round total of 141.

The Catamounts matched the program's low round of 278 that was established a year ago at the same tournament and later matched at the Aggie Invitational in 2022.
 
Tied for sixth after 18 holes with an even-par score of 70, Mapanao climbed four spots in the second round with a 1-over par round of 71 to enter Tuesday's final round in third place at 141. The Quakers Hill, New South Wales native carded six birdies on Monday, posting three in both rounds to counter three bogeys in round one and four scores of +1 in the second 18 holes.
 
Western Carolina fifth-year senior Victoria Ladd and redshirt junior Kayleigh Baker led four Catamounts in the individual Top 10 after Monday's first round as the duo posted matching rounds of 1-under par 69 to sit tied atop the individual leaderboard. Baker matched her career-low round set last fall at the Aggie Invitational, while Ladd shot her career-best round improving upon her previous low of 70 shot last year at the RiverTowne Invitational.
 
Opening on the par-4 third, Baker was 1-over par four holes into the round after a bogey on the par-5 sixth. Two holes later, the St. Augustine, Fla., product evened her score with the first of two first-round birdies and later moved to 1-under par with a birdie on the par-5 10th. Baker played the final 10 holes of the first round at even-par to finish at 69. Baker battled through a second round that started at 5-over par through the first five holes. She birdied No. 10 for a second time on the day, but a trio of bogeys relegated her to 7-over 77 and a two-round score of 146 to sit tied for 14th.
 
Ladd countered a bogey and one double-bogey with four birdies in registering her career-best round. A birdie on the par-5 second was evened by a bogey on the par-3 fourth to have her sitting even through the first four holes. Birdies on three of the next six holes moved her to 3-under par before the double-bogey on the par-3 14th put her one-under par. The Greensboro, N.C., product shot even over the final five holes of the first round for 69. Four-over par through the first eight holes of the second round, Ladd charted her lone birdie on the par-5 10th before a triple-bogey on No. 15 and a bogey on her 36th hole of the day left her matching Baker at 7-over par and a two-round score of 146, likewise tied for 14th.
 
Junior Elizabeth Lohbauer slid from a sixth-place tie into a two-way tie for 12th-place with a two-round score of 145, while sophomore Sadler Miller advanced six positions over the second 18 holes into a three-way tie for 31st with a score of 152. Lohbauer countered three bogeys with a trio of birdies in the first round for an even-par 70 before tallying a fourth birdie against three bogeys and one triple for a round-two score of 5-over par 75. Miller recovered from a first-round 80 despite carding three birdies to shoot 2-over par 72 for a counting score in round two, collecting her fourth birdie against three bogeys to round out WCU's scoring five.
 
As a team, WCU leads the tournament in overall par-3 scoring at +7 (3.14) and has a combined 22 birdies, tied for the third-most. Mapanao leads the field on the par-3 holes, averaging 1-under par (2.90), and posted a team-best six birdies while Baker finished with 26 pars to lead the team, one more than teammates Lohbauer and Ladd with 25 apiece.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, junior Kaitlyn Wingnean is 48th overall with a two-round score of 164. The Edmonton, Alberta, product knocked 10 strokes off her first-round 87 to shoot 77 on the second 18 holes, collecting a pair of birdies in Monday's action.
 
Led by individual leader Clemence Cadeac at 4-under par 136 (69-67), tournament host Florida Atlantic leads the eight-team field by two strokes over second-place WCU, 571-to-573. Florida Gulf Coast sits in third at 578 with Keiser University (579) and Jacksonville (580) rounding out the top five.
 
Paired with golfers from Florida Gulf Coast and FAU, the Catamount scoring five tees off beginning at 8:27 a.m. on Tuesday on the first tee box. Live scoring through GolfStat is available through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
Tournament play concludes on Tuesday with tee times beginning just before 8 a.m.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
 
2 – Western Carolina – 278-295 = 573 (+13)
3 – Brie Mapanao – 70-71 = 141 (+1)
T12 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 70-75 = 145 (+5)
T14 – Kayleigh Baker – 69-77 = 146 (+6)
T14 – Victoria Ladd – 69-77 = 146 (+6)
T31 – Sadler Miller – 80-72 = 152 (+12)
48 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (ind.) – 87-77 = 164 (+24)