Leading the way for the Sand Sharks was junior McLain Neal, who delivered a steady performance and posted the team's lowest score of the day with a 2-over 74. Neal started her round with three straight pars before a bogey on the par-3 fourth. She quickly regained momentum, making three consecutive pars and closing the front nine with a birdie on the ninth to make the turn at 1-over. A bogey on the 10th was followed by four straight pars, and she briefly dipped back to 1-over with a birdie on the par-4 15th. Neal closed with a bogey on 16, finishing the day in strong form with a 74 on the card.

Jessica Edwards and Camila Giordani each shot 85 (+13) to contribute to the team total. Edwards put together a promising start, going 4-over on the front nine, but stumbled coming in, finishing the back nine at 9-over. Giordani faced an early challenge, playing the first six holes at 5-over. She settled with pars on 7 and 8 but struggled again on the back nine, closing with a 7-over stretch.

Florence Phan and Manon Tortelier rounded out the Sand Sharks' starting five with rounds of 86 and 88, respectively.

With two rounds still to play, USCB will look to build on Neal's strong start and climb the leaderboard as competition continues Saturday in Augusta.