Maricopa, Ariz. – Sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer posted a bogey-free, career-low tying 4-under par round of 68­ on Friday to lead a pair of Catamounts inside the individual top 10 as Western Carolina sits in a tie for fifth after 18 holes at the inaugural National Golf Invitational at the par-72, 6,318 Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.
 
Tied with Mercer's Mikayla Dubnik for the runner-up spot, Lohbauer is joined among the leaders by freshman teammate Brie Mapanao, mired in a six-way tie for ninth-place at even-par 72.
 
The second round opens Saturday at 7:30 a.m. MS. Paired with golfers from Mercer and Texas State, the Catamount scoring five hits the course at 8:40 a.m. MST / 11:40 a.m. ET. Live scoring through GolfStat is available online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
Lohbauer shot par on the first 11 holes of the day before birdieing four of her final seven holes of the opening round for the 4-under round of 68. It's the second time this season she's fired a 68 – both coming out west for the Venice, Fla., product. Lohbauer matched the 4-under round she carded in the third round of the Jackrabbit Invitational at the Boulder Creek Golf Course in Boulder City, Nev., back in mid-March.
 
Lohbauer's 14 pars and four birdies both ranked her tied for fourth in the tournament field. She is also tied for second in par-4 scoring at 3-under par (3.70).
 
Mapanao countered three bogeys with a trio of birdies on Friday for an even-par round of 72. The frosh twice moved to 1-under par with birdies on the par-5 third, par-4 eighth, and par-5 13th. Her third bogey came on the par-3 17th, pushing her back to even over the opening 18 holes.
 
Fifth-year senior Madison Isaacson is in a seven-way tie for 22nd at 3-over par 75. The Greensboro, N.C., product countered five bogeys with a pair of birdies in the first round with both birdies coming on the front nine.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are senior Victoria Ladd in a tie for 46th at 7-over par 79 and sophomore Kaitlyn Wingnean in a two-way tie for 48th at 8-over par, 80. Ladd struggled through the front with bogeys on seven of the nine holes. She settled on the back, shooting par on seven of the nine with her lone birdie against an eighth bogey. Wingnean was 3-over par at the turn with six pars and three bogeys. She fought through a tumultuous back nine that included a pair of double-bogeys and three bogeys but recovered to birdie two of her final three holes.
 
Paced by individual leader Michelle Cox at 5-under par 67, Penn State leads the 10-team field by a stroke over fellow Big Ten Conference foe Iowa, 288-to-289, after 18 holes. Middle Tennessee is three strokes off the pace at 291 followed by Southern Conference-member Mercer in fourth at 293 and the two-way tie between WCU and Texas State in fifth at 294.
 
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2023 National Golf Invitational
After 18 Holes | Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
1 – Penn State – 288 (E)
2 – Iowa – 289 (+1)
3 – Middle Tennessee – 291 (+3)
4 – Mercer – 293 (+5)
5t – Western Carolina – 294 (+6)
5t – Texas State – 294 (+6)
7 – UC-Riverside – 296 (+8)
8 – Grand Canyon – 298 (+10)
9 – Santa Clara – 299 (+11)
10 – Seattle – 308 (+20)
 
T5 – Western Carolina – 294 (+6)
T2 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 68 (-4)
T9 – Brie Mapanao – 72 (E)
T22 – Madison Isaacson – 75 (+3)
T46 – Victoria Ladd – 79 (+7)
T48 – Kaitlyn Wingnean – 80 (+8)