Mammoths tied for 7th after Day 1 at NCAA Championship

5/19/2026 6:51:00 PM

PALM DESERT, CA – The Amherst College Women's Golf Team competed in Day 1 of the 2026 NCAA DIII Women's Golf National Championship.

The Mammoths are competing at the Desert Willow Golf Resort which hosts two championship Southern California golf courses: Firecliff and Mountain View. The Mammoths played two practice rounds, one on Sunday May 17th and the other on Monday May 18th, to practice both courses. The National Championship tournament spans across four days, however only the top 15 out of 34 teams will advance after the second round.

The Mammoths began play on Tuesday morning to avoid the desert heat, and started on hole one of the Mountain View course. The Mammoths finished the first day with a total of 300, or +12 over par, and tied for 7th place with Randolph-Macon College. Leading the tournament is Carnegie Mellon University at 291, or +3 over par.

On the individual leaderboard, sophomore Mekhala Costello leads the Mammoths shooting 72, or even par. Costello finished out her first round strong with a birdie on the 18th hole, a par five. Costello hit her third shot, around 140 yards from the green, to 2-inches from the hole, giving her a simple birdie putt. Following Costello is freshman Emma Lindemoen who fired a 73. Freshman Renna Chang followed close behind shooting a 76. Chang had an impressive four birdies for the day. Sophomore Jia An shot 79, and sophomore Joelle Kim shot 81.

The Mammoths, #5 in the nation, are back in action tomorrow for the second day of the NCAA DIII Women's Golf National Championship. Tomorrow the Mammoths will play on Desert Willow Golf Resort's Mountain View course and will start on hole 10. The Mammoths are looking to climb the leaderboard and make the top-15 tournament cut.

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