PALM DESERT, Calif. - A strong third round moved the Williams College women's golf team from 10th place into 7th with one round remaining at the NCAA Division III National Championship on the Firecliff course at the Desert Willow Golf Resort. Led by
Natalie Cheong's 1-under-par 71 on Thursday, the Ephs picked up strokes on nearly the entire field, shooting the third-best team round on the day.
The Ephs started Thursday 13 strokes back of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, seven strokes back of Washington University in St. Louis, and three strokes behind Amherst College, and ended the day in front of all three teams. Williams now sits at +31 for the tournament, one ahead of CMS and two ahead of WashU and Amherst. The Ephs are one stroke behind Pomona-Pitzer, and two strokes back of NESCAC rival Middlebury.
Cheong's -1 on Thursday was tied for the seventh-best individual round on the day and now sits in a tie for 14th in the tournament. The team also had strong performances from
Euna Lee (even par) who is now tied for 20th individually, as well as
Michelle Ding (2-over), and Emma Ambramson (5-over).
Zoe Wynn was just behind Abramson with a +6.
The Ephs will look to continue climbing the leaderboard on Friday in the tournament's final round, with Williams starting its tee times at 8:10am PT / 11:10am ET.
