SAN MARCOS, Texas — The Houston Christian women's golf team made a statement in the opening round of the 2026 Southland Conference Championship on Monday, firing a 4-under par team score to claim the top spot on the leaderboard after Round 1 at Kissing Tree Golf Club.

The Huskies sit eight shots clear of second-place UTRGV, which finished the opening round at 4-over. Incarnate Word is third at 12-over, while Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are tied for fourth at 15-over. East Texas A&M is sixth at 17-over and Stephen F. Austin sits seventh at 28-over.

Sara Pihlajamaki paced the Huskies with a standout individual performance, carding a 3-under 69 to claim the outright lead in the individual standings after Round 1. The Finland native made her move on the front nine with a 34, then closed with a 35 on the back to finish as the low round of the tournament. Alyssa Stewart was right behind her teammate, posting a 2-under 70 to sit in second place individually. Natcha Makmanee rounded out Houston Christian's top three, finishing at even-par 72 to hold third place on the leaderboard. Alejandra Ferrer and Hailey Hendershott each carded 1-over 73s to round out the Huskie lineup.

With three HCU players inside the top three of the individual standings and the team sitting in first place, the Huskies are positioned to make a serious run at the conference title.

Round 2 of the 54-hole championship tees off Tuesday beginning at 12:00 p.m., with Houston Christian grouped alongside UTRGV and Incarnate Word. Pihlajamaki leads off at 12:40 p.m., with Stewart at 12:30, Makmanee at 12:20, Ferrer at 12:10 and Hendershott at 12:00 p.m.

Live scoring for the Southland Conference Championship is available on Scoreboard.