Humacao, PR – Junior Elizabeth Lohbauer carded an opening-round 3-under par 69 on Tuesday to lead two Catamounts among the individual Top 10 after 18 holes at the Puerto Rico Classic, hosted by Ball State at the par-72, 6,026-yard Flamboyan Course at the Palmas Del Mar. Lohbauer hit the clubhouse in third place, joined by sophomore teammate Brie Mapanao in a three-way tie for eighth as the Catamounts sit third after the first of three rounds.
 
Action continues Wednesday morning with a shotgun start scheduled for 8:30 a.m. AT / 7:30 a.m. ET. WCU's scoring five will be paired again with golfers from Georgia State as well as host Ball State, beginning the day on the first through fifth holes. Live scoring through GolfStat is available online through links at CatamountSports.com.
 
Lohbauer's lone blemish on an otherwise season-low round came on her first hole as she bogeyed the par-3 15th. She responded by shooting par on her next four holes before returning to even-par for the day with the first of four birdies on the par-4, 331-yard No. 2. Back-to-back birdies on the par-5 seventh and par-3 eighth moved her to two-under before she closed with the fourth birdie on the par-3 12th to shoot 3-under, 69.
 
Mapanao had a much more active day on the scorecard firing a 1-under par 71 to move into the Top 10. Beginning her day with a birdie on the par-5 16th, Mapanao moved to 2-under par before a costly double-bogey on the par-3 fourth left her back at even-par with 10 holes to play. The Australian-born striker closed her round with eight pars and two more birdies.
 
All told Lohbauer and Mapanao shared the WCU team lead with four birdies through the first 18 holes.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are redshirt junior Kayleigh Baker and sophomore Sadler Miller tied with five others for 32nd at 4-over par 76, and fifth-year senior Victoria Ladd in a tie for 54th at 8-over par 80. Baker countered five bogeys and one double-bogey with a trio of pars, while Miller charted one birdie against five bogeys, three of which came inside her final four holes of the day. Baker matched Lohbauer for the best par-3 scoring average on Tuesday at 1-under (2.75). Ladd carded a pair of birdies on Tuesday.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, junior Kaitlyn Wingnean finished the first day in a tie for 62nd overall at 11-over par, 83.
 
With four individuals inside the individual Top 10, California Baptist carded an opening-round 7-under par 281 to carry a nine-stroke lead into Wednesday's second round ahead of Little Rock at 290. WCU is two strokes outside the runner-up spot and 11 off the pace in third with a score of 292, followed by Seattle (294) and South Dakota (295) rounding out the top five.
 
Fellow SoCon foes Wofford and UNCG are tied for seventh at 297.
 
UNCG's Ava Romfo leads the 71-golfer field after shooting a 5-under par 67 on Tuesday. She carries a one-stroke lead over Wofford's Bella Kent (68, -4) and a two-stroke advantage over Lohbauer as golfers representing the SoCon occupy all three podium positions after
 
Action resumes Wednesday morning and is slated to conclude on Thursday with a third shotgun start set for 8 a.m. AT, 7 a.m. ET.
 
3 – Western Carolina – 292 (+4)
3 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 69 (-3)
T8 – Brie Mapanao – 71 (-1)
T32 – Kayleigh Baker – 76 (+4)
T32 – Sadler Miller – 76 (+4)
T52 – Victoria Ladd – 80 (+8)
T62 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (ind.) – 83 (+11)