PITTSGROVE, N.J. -- Taking on the field at the 2026 Colonial Women's Golf Conference Championship at Running Deer GC in Pittsgrove, New Jersey, the Christopher Newport Captains are in second place after the first round of play on Monday morning. Sophomore
Gabi McGehee (+2) is tied for second to lead the way for the Captains (+20), who trail first-place Babson (+8) after 18 holes of action.
Babson leads the six-team postseason tournament with an eight-over 296 in the first round. The CWGC Tournament is the second edition of the conference tournament which was won by the Beavers in 2025.
On the individual leaderboard, Babson's Katie Yang (-2) leads the 30-player field with McGehee and Salisbury's Krista Brosius tied for second four strokes back. The four other Captains were locked in a tight bunch with rookie
Madeleine Smith (+5) followed closely by junior
Taylor Davis (+6) and sophomore
Maddie Cameron (+7). Sophomore
Sara McCaskill (+10) served as Monday's drop score, but the second-year Captain is in 12th place.
McGehee fired a season-low 74 (+2) to shave three strokes off her best performance this Fall. She tackled the front nine with six pars and one birdie, making the turn at one-over. She then managed her second-half with the same control, dropping in six more pars and another birdie. She was under par on the 415-yard par five 9th and added another birdie on the 125-yard par three 13th.
Smith is tied for seventh with a 77 (+5) which falls just one stroke off her career-best performance. She got out to a strong start with a birdie on the second hole, a 298-yard par four, and added another birdie on No. 9. Smith had the best overall run on Monday for the Captains with seven straigth holes at par or bettern from No. 8 through No. 14.
An electric finish highlighted the round for
Taylor Davis, who is in ninth place with a 78 (+6). Davis dropped in an Eagle on the 411-yard par five 17th and finish with a birdie on 18, a 385-yard par four. Picking up three strokes on the final two holes launched Davis back into the top-ten on the individual leaderboard.
Rounding out that top-ten was
Maddie Cameron, with a seven-over 79 (+7) to take 10th place overall. She matched Davis for a team-high with three birdies while adding nine pars. McCaskill was among the team leaders with 11 pars and finished the day with an 82 (+10).
The teams will return to the course at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday to play the second and final round of the CWGC Championship. The first tee time for CNU is McGehee taking the course at 8:45 a.m. and live scoring is available online.
