STANFORD, Calif. – A strong back nine of the first round of the 2021 Pac-12 Championships propelled No. 22 Arizona Women's Golf to a tie for third with Arizona State and UCLA at 7-over par on Friday. The five-woman Wildcat lineup sank 11 birdies after the turn to rise up the leaderboards. Arizona was paced by senior Yu-Sang Hou at even par, good for a top-10 finish on the tournament's first day.

"We played our best golf today after the turn, and I was happy to see multiple members of our lineup sink two or more birdies," said head coach Laura Ianello. "We had three ladies in the top 12 of the leaderboard with a strong performance from Yu-Sang to lead us. I am excited to see us carry our momentum from the back nine today into tomorrow's second round."

Hou was joined in the top 12 by her sister Vivian Hou and Gile Bite Starkute who both finished Friday's round in a tied for 12^th at 1-over par.

The Wildcats were at their best on the course's shortest holes as they led the field in par-3 scoring in the first round with a stroke average of 3.16. Their 14 birdies as a team were third among the field, trailing USC and Stanford by one.

Arizona will tee off at 9:20 a.m. (MST) for the second round on Saturday and are paired with Arizona State who is also part of the three-team tie for third place.