WALLA WALLA, Wash.—Three players posted career-low rounds, to help Lewis & Clark College women's golf record their best round of the season on Day One of the Northwest Conference Spring Classic. 

THE BASICS
 
Women's Golf – 5^th out of 9 Teams – 333 (+45) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First years Julia Klenk, Natalie Nuñez Lezama and Lydia Schwenker all notched the best rounds of their collegiate career to lead the Pioneers. Lewis & Clark sits right in the middle of the standings after Day One: they trail fourth-place Pacific University by 17 strokes, but hold a double-digit stroke lead on the University of Puget Sound (11 strokes) and Pacific Lutheran University (12 strokes). 
 
First year Evie Denton turned in an 80 (+8) to lead Lewis & Clark on Sunday. She sits in a tie for 16^th overall. Denton played mostly clean golf outside of three double bogeys. The first year recorded pars on four of her first five holes, but fell to +4 with a second double bogey on six. She settled down from there with four bogeys and two birdies over her next 10 holes. Denton posted another double bogey on 17 to finish her round +8. 
 
Klenk led the team for much of the day and finished with a career-best round of 81 (+9). She sits all alone in 18^th place after 18 holes. The first year played the best golf of her season for most of the round. She sat +3 after five holes but posted two birdies, a bogey and three pars over her next six holes to sit +2 after 11. Klenk recorded four bogey and a double down the stretch to just miss her first collegiate round in the 70s. 
 
First year Ahika Jani placed third on the team. She carded an 83 (+11) to finish Day One tied for 22^nd. Jani did not record a birdie on the day but kept the damage to a minimum with just one double bogey. She had a strong stretch on the front nine with four pars and a bogey between the fourth and eighth holes. 
 
Nuñez Lezama and Schwenker each carded career-low rounds of 89 (+17). They are tied for 33^rd in the field. 
 
Nuñez Lezama was struggling in the middle of her round with seven bogeys and a double during an eight-hole stretch. She buckled down and posted four-straight pars between the 13^th and 16^th holes to break 90 for the first time in her career. Schwenker posted a pair of birdies in her round, including two in a four-hole stretch between the seventh and 10 holes. Over the course of a six-hole stretch between the fifth and 10 holes, she went +1 with two birdies, two pars, a bogey and a double bogey. She ended the round with pars on two of her final three holes to beat her previous best round by over 10 strokes. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Schwenker broke a 100 for the first time in her career and beat her previous career-low round (101) by 12 strokes. 
• Klenk (84) and Nuñez Lezama (92) each beat their previous career-low rounds by three strokes. 
• The Pioneers round of 333 (+45) beat their previous best round of the season by six strokes. Lewis & Clark shot a 333 (+51) at the NWC Fall Classic (Round One). 
• George Fox University leads the field after Day One with a score of 292 (+4). Host Whitman University 309 (+21) leads Whitworth University (312) by three strokes and Pacific (316) by seven strokes. 
• The Pioneers are 11 strokes ahead of Puget Sound, 12 ahead of Pacific Lutheran and 23 ahead of Linfield. Willamette University does not have enough golfers to field a team. 
• Lewis & Clark finished fourth in the field with their six birdies. Klenk, Denton and Schwenker all posted two birdies. 
• Klenk finished tied for second in the field with an average of 2.80 (-1) on Par 3s.  

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Women's golf will close out the NWC Spring Classic on Tuesday morning. The Pioneers will begin teeing off at 10 a.m.