WEST CHICAGO, Ill. (naccsports.org) --- Aurora University holds five of the top six spots in the medalist race and leads the team race by 17 strokes after Saturday's opening round of the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Women's Golf Championships at St. Andrews Golf and Country Club.

Aurora carded five rounds of 76 or better and holds the opening day lead in the team race with a 9-over 297. Marian University sits second after posting a 314, just five strokes better than third-place Lake Forest College (319). St. Norbert College (324) holds a two-stroke lead over Milwaukee School of Engineering (326) for fourth place, while Edgewood University is solidly in sixth place after an opening-round 341. Concordia University Wisconsin (385) is seventh, just ahead of Benedictine University (390) and Wisconsin Lutheran College (398), while Alverno College (484) rounds out the team scoring.

The Spartans carded five rounds of 76 (+4) or better, led by Anna Coccia, who carded an even-par 72 on day one and leads defending NACC Player of the Year Yinan Lu of Marian by one stroke. Anna Simpson added a 2-over 74 for Aurora, while Avery Arendell carded a 3-over 75, and Thanpimol Tharpanawongwech and Ava Kalt sit tied for fifth place after carding matching 4-over 76s in the opening round.

Coccia recorded four birdies during her round, while Kalt had three. Lu seemed to be cruising through eight holes, recording four birdies and an eagle. She still completed the front nine at 2-under 34 despite a triple-bogey 7 on the ninth hole. The back nine proved to be more of a challenge for Lu. She had just birdie down the stretch against four bogeys.

Sunday's second round gets underway at 11 a.m. with a wave of players representing Aurora, Marian, and Lake Forest going off the No. 1 tee. Players representing St. Norbert, MSOE, and Edgewood will begin their rounds at approximately 11:48 a.m.