NORMAL, Ill. – The Carleton women's golf team is sixth following the opening day of the two-day Niepagen Spring Fling, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University at Ironwood Golf Club.  The Knights accumulated a score of 318 (+30) in the opening round to sit 19 shots back of leader St. Catherine.
 
Sophomore Mindy Zhai led the way for the starting five with a six-over-par 78 on Saturday.  Opening her round on hole 10, the Winter Garden, Fla., native started three-over-par through her first two holes with a bogey and a double-bogey to kick things off.  From there, the sophomore settled in nicely.  A birdie on the par-five 17th proved to be the highlight as the made the turn with a three-over par 39 on her first nine.  She then matched the three-over 39 on the second nine to post the six-over 78 in round one to sit in a tie for 20th on the individual leaderboard.
 
Senior Olivia Siebert and junior Carter Sichol followed with a pair of seven-over 79s.  Siebert cruised through the majority of her round, which was highlighted by back-to-back birdies on the par-four sixth and the par-five seventh.  She stepped to the tee box on her final hole just four-over-par, but a triple-bogey seven on her 18th resulted in a season-low-tying 79.  Sichol struggled early, opening the round with a double-bogey on her first hole, the ninth.  She proceeded to be four-over-par through her first four holes before bouncing back.  Birdies on the par-four 13th and fifth holes highlighted her round as she showed resiliency in salvaging another round in the 70s. 
 
Juniors Cynthia Lu and Natalie Tatar rounded out the Carleton lineup with an 82 (+10) and 87 (+15), respectively.  First-year Anna Lee and junior Sarah Zheng each competed as individuals in Saturday's opening round.  Lee was four-over-par through her first eight holes, but played the final 10 just one-over, highlighted by a birdie on the par-three 13th hole to earn herself a team-low 77 on Saturday.  Lee, who already has one top-10 finish in her first season, is currently tied for 16th and two shots out of the top 10 as she looks to add another tomorrow.  Zheng carded a six-over-par 42 on the front nine and added a seven-over 43 on the back for an 18-hole total of 85 (+13). 
 
The Knights will be back on the course early tomorrow for the final round at Ironwood Golf Club.  The two-day event is set to conclude with a shotgun start at 9:00am.