PALM DESERT, Calif. – The 18th-ranked Carleton women's golf team remained 11th at the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championships following a team score of 302 (+14) in Thursday's third round at Desert Willow Golf Resort.  Senior Carter Sichol continued her strong play with a second consecutive round under par and is alone in second on the individual leaderboard, just one stroke behind leader Emma Wong of Carnegie Mellon heading into Friday's final round.

Sichol got off to another strong start on Thursday with a birdie on the 142-yard par-three third hole.  She put up a bogey-free opening nine and was one-under at the turn.  A bogey on the 11th was negated when the senior birdied the 14th to head back under par.  Late in the round, the Winnetka native bogeyed the par-three 17th, but came right back to birdie the 460-yard par-five 18th to put herself within striking distance in solo second (-3).

Fellow senior Sarah Zheng followed Sichol with a three-over-par 75 in the third round.  Zheng's play has gotten stronger throughout the week, cutting six strokes from Tuesday's opening round to Wednesday's second round and another two strokes from yesterday to today.  Her round was highlighted by a birdie on the 500-plus-yard par-five seventh hole on her way to a tie for 64th individually (+19).

Junior Mindy Zhai came next with a five-over-par 77.  The total matched her second-round score on the Firecliff course.  The highlight of the Winter Garden, Fla., native's round was a birdie on the 454-yard par-five 13th hole, a hole she birdied for the second consecutive day.  Back-to-back scores of 77 have her 11-over-par for the tournament, placing her in a tie for 41st.

Sophomore Anna Lee (+7) and senior Cynthia Lu (+8) rounded out the lineup for the Knights.  Lee started strong with birdies on the first and fifth holes before finishing with six consecutive pars for a 79.  She is tied for 47th, while Lu shot an eight-over-par 80, highlighted by a birdie to start the back nine.  She is currently 79th in the individual field.

The Knights will tee it up in the final round tomorrow morning, looking to crack the top 10 for the fifth time in program history.  Carleton currently sits six strokes outside the top 10 and will look to chase down Amherst and WashU, who are tied for ninth, beginning tomorrow at 7am Pacific time, 9am Central.