The No. 9 Arizona women’s golf team seemed to have a strong start in the first round of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club in California. But it turned out to be a rough afternoon for the Wildcats, who finished in 12th place after shooting 24-over-par.

The Wildcats couldn’t hold on to their solid beginning that placed them in fourth place through the first half of the opening round. Freshman Alejandra Llaneza, who led the individual scoreboard for the tournament on hole 13 with a 1-under-par, shot four bogeys and one double bogey on the final six holes to drop down to 31st place.

Struggling on the back nine holes seemed to be a recurring theme for the Wildcats, who shot 15-over-par on the second half of the course, which severely hurt the team. On a day where mistakes made a dramatic difference, the Wildcats could not stay away from trouble, eventually dropping down eight places on the back nine.

The heavy favorite to win the tournament was No. 2 UCLA, who currently leads the tournament at 4-over-par. Their domination on the back nine allowed them to surpass No. 4 BYU, who led the tournament until they struggled on the back nine to drop to 14-over-par. UCLA was led by Sydnee Michaels and Glory Young, who both finished third on the individual scoreboard with even rounds.

For the Wildcats, Emily Mason made her first tournament start of the season, shooting an 11-over-par 82 to finish tied for 78th place.

No. 4 individually ranked senior Alison Walshe finished with a 7-over-par 78 to finish tied for 46th and senior Mary Jacobs shot an 8-over-par 79 to take part in a tie for 55th place. Junior Amanda Wilson shot a 4-over-par to finish tied in 19th place.