Humacao, Puerto Rico – Western Carolina junior Sadler Miller carded a career-low, opening-round score of 3-under par 69 to sit in a three-way tie for second place after 18 holes at the Puerto Rico Shootout, hosted by Ball State at the par-72, 6,026-yard Flamboyan Course at the Palmas Del Mar Golf Club. Senior Elizabeth Lohbauer flanked Miller in a six-way tie for 11th in helping pace the Catamounts to a seventh-place tie with two rounds to play on the Caribbean course.
 
The second round opens at 7:30 a.m. AST / 8:30 a.m. EST with the Catamount scoring five paired with golfers from Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and Memphis. Live scoring through the Scoreboard Live app powered by Clippd is available online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
Opening on the par-4 14th, Miller carded five birdies on Tuesday and was one of just three golfers to record an eagle – doing so on the par-6, 495-yard 16th – to counter four bogeys in her best career round. The Clayton, N.C., product started strong, moving to 5-under par just six holes into her day. She countered a bogey on the par-4 second with a birdie on No. 3 to return her to 5-under par where she stayed over the next two holes.
 
Miller closed her final eight holes with three bogeys, her fifth birdie, and four pars to post the best round of her collegiate career. She leads the field in par-5 scoring at 4-under par (4.00) and charted a team-best five birdies. She, along with Sophie Lauture of UNCG and Natalia Rodriguez Perez of UTRGV are the only golfers with an eagle.
 
Elizabeth Lohbauer played her first seven holes even-par between the 12th and 18th before charting birdie after making the turn. Bogeys on the par-4 second and par-3 fourth moved her to 1-over for the round. She closed her final seven holes on Tuesday at 1-under par and was poised to carry a 1-under score to the clubhouse before a bogey on the par-4, 367-yard 11th left her even for the day.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are true freshman Ella Kozak in a tie for 50th with a 5-over par 77, mid-year transfer Abby Bradley in a tie for 64th in her WCU debut with a first-round 79, and freshman Madison Lehr tied for 74th with a 9-over par 81. Saskatchewan product Kozak carded four birdies on Tuesday – the second-most by a Catamount – with Bradley posting two and Lehr one over the first 18 holes.
 
Playing unattached as individuals, freshman Annalee Caveney shot 4-over par 76 to sit in a tie for 38th, while Canadian-born senior Kaitlyn Wingnean is 81st after shooting 88.
 
Southern Mississippi and fellow SoCon school UNCG are tied atop the team leaderboard after posting matching opening-round team scores of 1-under, 287. James Madison is third, three strokes in arrears at 290 as the Dukes are one stroke clear of fourth-place Florida Gulf Coast (291) and five clear of fifth-place Boston College (295).
 
Tied with Memphis for seventh, the Catamounts and Tigers are just two strokes outside of the Top Five and 10 short of the tournament lead.
 
Hannah Rabb of James Madison leads the 82-golfer field by a stroke over the three-way gridlock between WCU's Miller, UNCG's Lulu Leetham, and Louise Cuyvers of Southern Miss. Rabb shot 4-under par 68 while the trio tied for the runner-up spot are a stroke back at 3-under par 69.
 
Action continues Wednesday morning before concluding Thursday with the final round with both a team champion and individual medalist to be recognized.
 
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T7 – Western Carolina – 297 (+9)
T2 – Sadler Miller – 69 (-3)
T11 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 72 (E)
T50 – Ella Kozak – 77 (+5)
T64 – Abby Bradley – 79 (+7)
T74 – Madison Lehr – 81 (+9)
T38 – Annalee Caveney (ind.) – 76 (+4)
81 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (ind.) – 88 (+16)