Gophers golfer Isabella McCauley tied for seventh after first round of Big Ten women's golf meet

Freshman Isabella McCauley of the Gophers was tied for seventh with an even-par 71 after the first day of the Big Ten Championships in women's golf at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh. She was 3-under after her first nine holes and finished two shots back of three golfers tied for first.

Teammate Grace Curran, a senior, was tied for 33rd with a 76.

As a team, the Gophers were ninth with a 17-over 301; Illinois was first with a 2-over 286.

"We clearly did not have our best today but what we do next is what matters most. As the overall scores show, the course played difficult as it should for a championship," Gophers coach Rhyll Brinsmead said.

"We know we need to be more disciplined tomorrow and make choices off the tee that will set us up for success. We still control our own destiny and I trust this team to navigate tomorrow's rounds with calmness and clarity."

Senior Autumn Pease threw a four-hit shutout as the host Gophers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 6-0 in Big Ten softball.

Pease struck out 10 and walked one for Minnesota (27-15, 7-6 Big Ten). Senior Natalie DenHartog and sophomore Taylor Krapf each hit a home run and had two RBI.

Sophomore Brady Counsell had three hits, including a two-run homer, but the Gophers baseball team lost 9-3 at Illinois.

Sophomore Tucker Novotny started for Minnesota (10-25, 4-6 Big Ten) and took the loss, giving up four earned runs and striking out six in four innings.

The University of Minnesota athletic department and Learfield's Gopher Sports Properties, its exclusive multimedia rightsholder, announced that Dinkytown Athletes will be the official NIL collective of Gophers athletics.

Dinkytown Athletes, launched in 2022, had previously operated as an independent collective with the mission to support student-athletes at Minnesota with name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, educational resources and post-graduation career opportunities.

"We are very excited to officially partner with Gopher Athletics," said Rob Gag, vice president of Dinkytown Athletes. "This would not have been possible without the support of our members and donors. There are many exciting things to come, and this is just the beginning."