BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Utah Valley University sophomore Victoria Estrada fired a 3-under-par 69 en route to finding herself in a tie for second place and helping her team too sit in second place after 18 holes of place at Northern Arizona's Clash at Boulder Creek at Boulder Creek Golf Club on Sunday afternoon.
 
Estrada's opening-round 69 ties a personal best that she set a season ago on the same golf course en route to winning the WAC Women's Golf Championship and becoming the program's inaugural NCAA Regional qualifier. The Wolverine sophomore and native of Henderson, Nevada birdied a team-best six holes on Sunday, which included four birdies over her first eight holes as well as a pair of birdies over her final three on the day to finish with the 3-under 69 and sit just one stroke back on the individual leaderboard. Her opening-round 69 also ties for the fourth-best 18-hole score in program history.
 
"I'm super happy for Victoria and her play today. It's a fun opportunity to have her play back by her hometown and at the course she won the 2021 conference championship at. She had great energy all day, I'm proud of her," head UVU coach Juli Erekson said. 

Freshman Leighton Shosted too had a strong opening round for the Wolverines after carding a 1-under-par 71 to sit in a tie for sixth place. Shosted recorded a trio of birdies, a pair of bogeys, and 13 pars on her way to posting the 1-under 71. Sophomore Caylyn Ponich also sits in the top 20, as she is tied for 19th after carding a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday.
 
As a team, UVU sits in second place with a 4-over-par 292. The 4-over 292 ties for the third-best single-round team score in program history and puts the Wolverines just six shots back of the tournament leader San Francisco (286, -2). By being in second place at the 18-team event, UVU currently finds itself ahead of Fresno State (293), UC Riverside (293), Seattle U (294), UNLV (297), Grand Canyon (299), Gonzaga (300), South Dakota State (300), California Baptist (303), Wyoming (303), Sacramento State (303), host NAU (305), Southern Utah (308), Long Beach State (308), Portland State (308), Weber State (310), and North Dakota (311).

"We got off to a great start this week. The team focused on what they needed to do and positioned themselves in great scoring positions. The wind picked up today, and I'm proud of their effort and focus to finish their rounds strong," Erekson said.
 
Playing the field as an individual, sophomore Macy Robertson Murphy recorded a 3-over-par 75 on Sunday on her way to sitting in a tie for 35th. Fellow sophomore Lauren Taylor is next UVU in a tie for 75th after posting a 7-over-par 79, while senior Bailey Henley rounds out the Wolverines at the event in a tie for 84th after carding an 8-over-par 80 on Sunday. 
 
UNLV's Madeleine Laux is leading the event—just one stroke ahead of Estrada—with a 4-under-par 68, while USF's Annika Borrelli is tied with Estrada in second place at 3-under-par. 
 
The Clash at Boulder Creek will continue on Monday with the tournament's second round beginning at 9 a.m. MT/8 a.m. PT. The event will then close on Tuesday with the final round that morning at 9 a.m. MT/8 a.m. PT. Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament by visiting BirdieFire.com.