Continuing her strong form towards the end of the season, Tan was extremely consistent on Friday morning, using a pair of birdies on both the back and front nine to post her fourth straight round of below-par golf.
Tan has now shot a combined -17 under four rounds in this NCAA tournament.
The other true freshman in Tech’s lineup was also excellent on Friday, as Zaretsky closed with three birdies in the final six holes to record an opening-round 70.
Tan was tied for third after the opening round, with Zaretsky tied for 10th overall.
No. 2 shot the day’s round, Wake Forrest, using five points or better to sit at -9 after 18 holes. The Demon Deacons are one shot ahead of Oklahoma State, and Big 12 individual medalist Madison Hinson-Tolchard.
Hinson-Tolchard made seven birdies and just one bogey to open the round with a 66 (-6). She leads Wake’s Lauren Walsh by one stroke, and the quartet ties Tan for the individual lead by two strokes.
Overall, only six of the 30 schools finished Friday with Wake Forest and OSU showing off.
Georgia and South Carolina each finished the day at -2 to share third place, while New Mexico and No. 6 Teay A&M finished the day tied for fifth at -1.
No. 1 Stanford, No. 10 Florida State and No. 22 Duke are all tied for seventh place, with Baylor just one shot back at (+1).
Tech is tied with No. 20 SMU for 11th, one shot behind No. 11 Texas, No. 8 San Jose State and No. 23 Arizona for 13th.
Michigan State and TCU are tied for 16th at +5, while No. 3 LSU (+6) and No. 16 Pepperdine (+7) close out the top-20.
Augusta and No. 9 USC are tied for 20th at +8, while Oregon State (+9), Virginia (+10), No. 19 Clemson (+11) and No. 18 Ole Miss (+12) round out the top spots. -25.
No. 5 Mississippi State (+13) and Tulsa (+13) tied for 26th with Northwestern (+15), No. 17 Vanderbilt (+17) and NC State (+17) round out the 30-team field.
Finally, of the 158 players at this week’s championship, only 21 finished the day under par.
Next:
After opening the week in the morning round, Tech now competes in the afternoon for Saturday’s second crucial second round. The Red Raiders will be paired with Georgia (-2) and Michigan State (+5) for the second round and will play between 2:25 pm (CT) and 3:09 pm (CT).