GOODYEAR, Ariz. --- Kim Coppin shot a 2-over 74 in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Championships to pace Sacramento State on Monday afternoon. The Hornets scored 310 as a team and are in sixth place with two rounds to play.Portland State fired a school-record 1-over-par 289 to take the lead after the first 18 holes at the Palm Valley Golf Course. The Vikings, who are the two-time defending champion, hold a 12-shot advantage over Montana State, which shot an impressive 301. Northern Arizona is third at (307), followed by Eastern Washington (308), Montana (309) and Sacramento State (310).
Portland State’s 289 is the second lowest 18-hole total in tournament history. Eastern Washington fired a 286 in the 2004 second round at Palm Valley. Sarah Tiller, the Big Sky’s Player of the Year, is in the individual lead. Tiller opened her senior tournament by shooting a 3-under-par 69. Tiller, from Nampa, Idaho, fired three birdies on the front nine to go along with one bogey for a 2-under-par 34. Tiller added another birdie on the back nine and finished with a 1-under-par 35. Tiller’s 69 tied the second-lowest 18-hole score in Big Sky Conference Tournament history. Portland State’s Taya Battisella shot the Big Sky record 68 in the first round at Palm Valley in 2003. Battistella shot a 69 in 2001 at the Ogden Country Club in Ogden, Utah. Tiller’s 69 tied her lowest collegiate round.
Tiller’s teammate Haley Brown is tied for second place with Northern Arizona’s Sophia Choi. Both players shot a 1-under-par 71. Brown, a freshman from Austin, Texas, also had four birdies in her round. Choi, the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, also birdied four holes. Choi, from nearby Chandler, Ariz., was the only player to finish under par on the par 4s, as she finished 1-under.
Montana State freshman Kelly Gillum is alone in fourth place at 72. MSU’s Kylie Anderson and Eastern Washington’s Kylie Anderson are tied for fifth at 73. Brown, Gillum and Allen were all 1-under on the back fine. Portland State’s Jeana Lee and Coppin are tied for seventh at 74.
The second round of the 54-hole tournament begins Tuesday at 7:15 a.m. PST. The third and final round will be played Wednesday beginning at 7:15 a.m. PST. Palm Valley is a Par-72 and plays 6,050 for the tournament.
Team Scores
1. Portland State 289
2. Montana State 301
3. Northern Arizona 307
4. Eastern Washington 308
5. Montana 309
6. Sacramento State 310
7. Weber State 319
8. Idaho State 325
Top 10 Individuals
1. Sarah Tiller, PSU, 69
T2. Sophia Choi, NAU, 71
T2. Haley Brown, PSU, 71
4. Kelly Gillum, MSU, 72
T5. Carlie Allen, EWU, 73
T5. Kylie Anderson, MSU, 73
T7. Jeana Lee, PSU, 74
T7. Kim Coppin, SAC, 74
T9. Krista Swanson, UM, 75
T9.; Danielle Reilly, PSU, 75
Sacramento State Scores
T7. Kim Coppin 74
T11. Jennifer Parkes 76
T21. Sarah Kuykendall 79
T29. Margaux Sheehan 81
36. Kathryn Cotter 82
