After taking 12th place at the Mason Rudolph Championship in its first tournament of 2007, the Stanford women’s golf team sits in a similar position at one of the year’s toughest tournaments, the NCAA Preview in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Junior Mari Chun, who finished a team-best 20th in the Card’s first outing of 2007, posted the fourth-best individual score at the first day of the NCAA Preview with a four-under-par 69. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/7851
Alvin Chow / Stanford Daily File Photo

Junior Mari Chun, who finished a team-best 20th in the Card’s first outing of 2007, posted the fourth-best individual score at the first day of the NCAA Preview with a four-under-par 69.

The team is in 13th place after the opening round of play. Despite its place in the standings, the Cardinal is only five strokes behind the top six teams.

In the first round, Stanford saw particularly strong performances from junior Mari Chun and sophomore Catherina Wang. Chun recorded a four-under-par 69, putting her in fourth place individually.

“She didn’t do exceptionally well [today],” head coach Catherine O’Connor said of her top golfer. “She did a great job managing her game and making the most of what she had. Mari is one of the best players in the country. She is going to be there for us, and I rely on her day in and day out.”

Wang added to the Cardinal’s effort with an impressive score of her own, tallying a two-under-71 in Monday’s round.

“Catherina came in as a very highly touted recruit and proved quite a bit last year,” O’Connor said. “She’s come back this year and has really played very well and solidly for us so far.”

It is no wonder that the Cardinal finds itself in the middle of the pack after the first day of action — the NCAA Preview features 18 of the nation’s top teams, and, according to O’Connor, is probably the strongest field Stanford will face all year.

“It’s one of the best fields we’ll see in the country,” O’Connor said. “These are definitely the best teams in the country from the east, central and west regions. We’ll see the teams that we’ll see at the national championship. For all intents and purposes, it’s just another tournament — it just happens to be the best in terms of field and teams.”

This tournament is being held in Albuquerque, which will also play host to the NCAA Championships at the end of the season in May. Hence, the tournament is simply a preview of sorts for the real championships down the road — a chance for the players to feel out the course while sizing up possible future competition.

Duke currently leads the field at the NCAA Preview with a low score of 287, while Pac-10 powers UCLA (291) and USC (292) are second and third respectively. Stanford is not far behind, however, with an overall team score of 301.

“Monday wasn’t bad but we need to get a [better] third and fourth score in, obviously,” O’Connor said.

“I’m not looking at our place in the field right now but more at where we can improve going in tomorrow to close up some of those gaps,” she added.

Aside from its competition, the Cardinal has had to deal with the growing pains that come with having a young and relatively inexperienced team. The lineup of five does not include a single senior but features two freshmen, Piper Miller and Rebecca Durham.

Miller shot a seven-over-par 80, and Durham fired an eight-over 81 in the pair’s first tests on the national collegiate stage.

Although not overly excited, O’Connor said she was not disappointed with her young team’s performance.

“It’s been a really crazy last three weeks for us since we’ve been on campus,” she explained. “It’s our second competition, and we’ve really been all over the place. We have two juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen in the lineup. We’re just trying to get going, staying focused on what we do well and make it better for tomorrow.”

Stanford resumes tournament play today, with the second round of competition beginning at 8 a.m.