HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (October 18, 2026) – The University of North Alabama women's golf team opened a three-day tournament with a trio of incredible rounds Sunday, as the Lions completed the first round of the Diamante Intercollegiate hosted by Little Rock in Arkansas.
Junior Olivia Whittle is having perhaps the best season of any North Alabama golfer so far, continuing her best season to date with a 71 in the opening round Sunday to go one-under par. This marks the lowest round of her career and her first time going under par at the collegiate level.
The England native has recorded a par-72 score three times this calendar year — the 2026 Huntsville.org Intercollegiate in March, the 2026 ASUN Championship in April and the 2026 Velvet Classic in September.
Today, Whittle had four birdies, three bogeys and shot pars on every other hole. After a bogey on the first hole, she came back with a birdie on a par four the next hole. She went on to birdie on holes 5 and 8 to finish one-under in the front nine, then added another on 15. Three of the four birdies came on par-fours, while the other was a par five.
Whittle is currently tied for 16th in a loaded field that includes over 100 golfers from 20 teams.
Two more Lions turned in impressive one-over days, including true freshman Celia Martinez Garcia and redshirt senior Kerigan Klauber. Both golfers are tied for 41st despite only being two strokes back of Whitte in the top-20. A total of 18 golfers are involved in the T-41 club.
For Martinez Garcia, her 73 score is the second-lowest of her young career. She carded a 72 in the final round of the Velvet Classic in Kentucky last month.
Rounding things out for the Lions were true freshmen Ella Busby and Annalee Regan with scores of 80 and 81 in the opening round. For Busby, this was her collegiate debut.
Busby had a memorable moment in her first collegiate tournament, recording an eagle on hole 11 — the first eagle by any UNA player this season. On a 490-yard par five, Busby hit a solid drive and followed it up with a near-perfect shot onto the green. She finished off the eagle by draining a 10-foot putt.
In a deep field, UNA is currently 17th place with a team score of 297 (+9). However, UNA is still within eight strokes of the top half of the field and within 11 strokes of the top five. The Lions have a sizeable lead over East Texas A&M, Stephen F. Austin and United Athletic Conference foe UT Arlington.
Sam Houston is well ahead of the rest of the pack at -15, followed by Central Arkansas (-7), Little Rock and Arkansas State in a tie for third (-3) and Cal Baptist to round out the top five (-1).
"Felt like we were close today with three really solid rounds," said UNA head coach Neil Self. "We just need to trim a few shots off our highest counter to gain some ground on this course."
Tee times and pairings for round two Monday will be announced later this evening.
For the latest results, click here.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
