PALM DESERT, Calif. - After securing its spot in the field nearly seven months ago, the University of Northwestern Women's Golf team's biggest week of the year is here. The Eagles are one of 34 teams teeing it up in the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Golf National Championship at Desert Willow Golf Resort in the California desert. National qualifiers for the third-consecutive season and the fourth time in as many years, UNW hopes to catch fire in the desert. Follow along with the action all week here.

Day One

Northwestern was one of six teams to tee off bright and early at 7:00 AM local time, beginning its round on the back nine of Desert Willow's Firecliff course. It took the Eagles a few holes to wake up after the early morning start, but a pair of them closed the day with fantastic finishes to break 80. Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) was the low Eagle on the day, firing a 78 (+6) in her NCAA Championship debut to position herself in a tie for 68th place. After shooting a 41 on the back nine, the freshman carded a 37 on the front, with a birdie on the par-four fourth hole, to carry some momentum into Wednesday's round. Brandt was joined in the 70s by Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool), who is participating in her third-straight national tournament. The vet got off to a shaky start and was +7 through four holes, but found the slot and played the final 14 holes at even par, including birdies on holes 15 and eight, to turn in a score of 79 (+7), good for a tie for 84th.

Morgan Eckman (Jordan, Minn./Jordan), UNW's other junior veteran, had an uncharacteristic day on the unforgiving Firecliff greens, but still recorded a respectable score of 81 (+9), despite having no birdies on the card. The other score counting toward Northwestern's total of 334 (+46) for the day was Ellie Rolland's (Otsego, Minn./Rogers), who is playing in her second NCAA Championship in as many years. The sophomore turned in a 96 (+24), while freshman Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) was just behind her with a 98 (+26) in her tournament debut.

The Eagles will tee off on the first hole of the Mountain View course beginning at 9:45 AM CT (7:45 local) on Wednesday as they make one final push to make the cut. The top 15 teams and top six individuals not on those teams will play Thursday and Friday before a champion is crowned. UNW is in 29th place, 43 shots behind the leaders from Carnegie Mellon and 27 shots behind the current cut line.