ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's golf team placed three golfers in the top 10 of the individual standings, led by a 3-over par 75 by Stephanie Lee (So., Southlake, Texas), and shot an 18-over par 306 Friday at the USNA Golf Club to conclude the day one of the 2022 Patriot League Women's Golf Championship in second place. The second round of the championship is scheduled to be played Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m.
 
The Midshipmen trail only Lehigh, who recorded a 16-over par 304 in round one. The Mountain Hawks also boast the tournament's individual leader, as Madison Pineda shot a 1-over par 73 to take a one-shot lead into Saturday.
 
"The team had a solid round today, considering the winds picked up in the afternoon and things got a little tougher," said head coach Nadia Ste-Marie. "In terms of where we are, this is the best we've started in any tournament at home. The preparation done over the last couple of weeks led us to today's result, I'm excited about continuing to build on this to finish strong over the next two days."
 
Lee, who sits third in the individual standings, birdied three holes on the front nine to secure the aforementioned 3-over par 75. The sophomore's first-round score tied her third-lowest round of the season, along with her three birdies being tied for the third-most in the competition.
 
"I thought Stephanie (Lee) played well, she made the turn one under," remarked Ste-Marie on the effort of the sophomore. "Her group had kind of a rolling thing that took her out of her momentum, but she came right back strongly. I think sometimes it takes a few holes to get back to where you were, she has been trending the right way so it was fun to see her strong start."  
 
Tori Smith (Sr., Arlington, Tenn.) turned in a strong showing of her own on Friday, finishing tied for fourth with a 4-over par 76. The senior team captain picked up a birdie on both the front and back nine, along with playing to par on 10 on the remaining 16 holes. The 76 bested her per round average by three strokes, along with tying her fourth-lowest score for a single round this season.
 
"Tori was a great leadoff player for us today," said Ste-Marie of her team captain. "She played strong, it was exciting to watch, she is in a great place and I'm excited to see what she does the rest of the weekend."
 
Angelina Chan (Jr., Franklin, Tenn.) rounded out the Midshipmen presence in the top 10 of the individual standings, firing a 5-over par 77. Chan played to par on 11 of Friday's 18 holes, in addition to picking up a birdie on 15 to highlight her outing. Bridget Hoang (Fr., Lawrenceville, Ga.) followed Chan in a tie for 11th at 6-over par 78, paced by a pair of birdies on the front nine, which is tied for the third-most in the tournament. Eve Worden (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) ended the day in a tie for 14th with a 7-over par 79, which included posting a birdie on the front nine and playing to par on 10 holes.   
 
Mara Hirtle (So., Pinehurst, N.C.) opened play with a 5-over par 41 on the front nine, but rebounded with a 4-over par 40 in the second half of her round to finish tied for 17th at 9-over par 81.
 
Richmond (+23, 311) is five shots behind Navy in third, followed by Boston University (+25, 313), Bucknell (+48, 336) and Holy Cross (+50, 338), respectively.