California Golden Bears Athletics

FAIRFAX, Calif. -- A Monday afternoon surge at the Julie Inkster Invitational hosted by Fairfax's Meadow Club saw the Cal women's golf team climb out of an 8th place showing after round one, at one point sitting just a couple strokes shy of leader Sacramento State. But at the conclusion of two rounds of play, the Bears are collectively 6-over 582, currently holding down fifth place in a crowded field.
 
Cal's 286 in round two was a sizable improvement on the 296 the Bears produced earlier in the morning. Cal leapfrogged several teams early in round two, as the Bears' 29 birdies across both rounds were tied for second-most among the schools competing.  
 
Marianne Li, who struggled with an 8-over 80 in the first round, found her groove in the afternoon, shooting a team-best 5-under 67. The 5-under mark tied Li for third place in Cal history for most shots under par in a single round. She trails Joanne Lee's 6-under total in 2010 and teammate Cindy Oh's 6-under showing at the Pac-12 Preview in November.  Li joins Sarah Huarte, Shannon Yocum, Allison Goodman, Lee and Pia Halbig in third place in the school record book.
 
Li sank six birdies in her final 18 holes on Monday, including four in a six-hole stretch starting with the fourth hole. Her 13-shot improvement between rounds was the best among all competitors from the 12 schools.
 
Collectively, Cindy Oh and Katherine Zhu paced the blue and gold with a 1-over performance, each shooting a 73 in the first round before securing a 72 in the second. Both golfers each sank three birdies and three bogies in the latter round.
 
Despite bogeying three of her last five holes, Amina Wolf produced a consistent showing all day, and trails Oh and Zhu by just four strokes. She birdied holes No. 2, 15 and 18 in round one and sits in a tie for 27th place after the first 36 holes.   
 
Rounding out the pack of non-individual Bears was Maria Herraez Galvez, who bogeyed the 17th hole in both rounds, but responded with a top-50 performance in the sun. She came into Monday seeking to improve upon a top-10 finish at the Pac-12 Preview in the fall.
 
Sofia Lundell competed as an individual, but wasn't able to capture the same afternoon magic. After recording a single birdie in round one, Lundell shot a 9-over 81 in round two, and will be striving for a bounce-back performance come Tuesday.
 
Four strokes currently separate third-place Rutgers and sixth-place Pepperdine heading into Tuesday's third round. The Bears will are seven shots back of the lead as they look to make up some ground when things tee-off at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow for the 18-hole shotgun start. The Bears will be paired with San Jose State and Pepperdine for the second straight day.
 
Team Results:
5. California, 296+286=582(+6)
 
Individual Results:
T12. Cindy Oh, 73+72=145 (+1)
T12. Katherine Zhu, 73+72=145 (+1)
T21. Marianne Li, 80+67=147 (+3)
T27. Amina Wolf, 74+75=149 (+5)
T44. Maria Herraez Galvez, 76+76=152 (+8)
*66. Sofia Lundell, 78+81=159 (+15)
*Playing as an individual