HASTINGS, Minn. – The No. 21-ranked Carleton women's golf team fired a combined 15-over-par 303 in Saturday's opening round of the Division III Classic at Emerald Greens Golf Course.  The score leads the field by two strokes, besting second-place UW-La Crosse.
 
The Knights sit atop a field of 16 teams thanks to matching scores of 75 (+3) from Carter Sichol (So., Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) and Natalie Tatar (So., Denver, Colo./St. Mary's Academy).  The pair of sophomores are tied for third in the individual standings in addition to leading the top team in the standings.  Sichol and Tatar sit three strokes behind the leaders in the tournament after day one.
 
Sarah Zheng (So., Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) followed close behind with a four-over-par 76 to put her in a tie for sixth, and Cynthia Lu (So., Redmond, Wash./Redmond) put up a five-over 77 and is tied for eighth in the full field. 
 
Carleton is the only team in the field to place four individuals in the top 10 on day one of competition. 
 
As an individual, Mindy Zhai (Fy., Winter Garden, Fla./Windermere Prep) shot a six-over-par 78 to rank tied for 12th. 
 
Trailing Carleton and UW-La Crosse, Gustavus Adolphus (315) sits 10 shots behind the Eagles, while Macalester (318) and St. Olaf (320) round out the top five heading into Sunday's final round, which is set to tee off at 8:00am.