VENTURA, Calif.—Lewis & Clark College men's and women's golf opened their 2026-27 season on Monday and Tuesday at the CA State Intercollegiate Tournament. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
Men's Golf – 5^th out of 7 Teams – 864 (288-287-289) – Even 
Women's Golf – No Team Score 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
Junior Joonho Moon and senior Kenji Pickeral led the men's team by finishing with a three-round score of 215 (-1). First year Payton Richardson and junior Lauren Raitanen each notched their collegiate-best rounds for the women's team. 
 
WOMEN'S GOLF 
 
Richardson and Raitanen each came out with a strong first round on Monday to post the best collegiate rounds of their career. 
 
Richardson led women's golf on both days. The first year notched a Round One score of 79 (+7) with one birdie, six bogeys and one double bogey. She posted her first collegiate birdie on the Par 4 11^th hole early on her back nine. On Tuesday, she recorded an 80 (+8). Richardson closed out the tournament in a tie for 30^thplace overall with a score of 159 (+15). 
 
Raitanen added a collegiate-best round of her own on Monday. The junior broke 100 for the first time in her career when she shot a 97 (+25). She recorded a birdie on the Par 4 10^th hole to start her back nine. Raitanen carded a 108 (+36) on Tuesday. The junior placed 50^th overall with a score of 205 (+61). 
 
MEN'S RECAP 
 
The men's team proved to be extremely consistent throughout the three-round tournament. Lewis & Clark finished even par (288) in Round One, before posting rounds of -1 (287) Monday afternoon and +1 (289) on Tuesday. Lewis & Clark ultimately finished fifth out of seven teams – including beating host Cal Lutheran University by one stroke. 
 
Moon and Pickeral closed out the weekend with a team-best tied for 13^th-place finish. 
 
Moon opened his junior season with a round of 73 (+1) on Monday morning. He came back with the best round by a Lewis & Clark player in the tournament with a 68 (-4) in the afternoon. The junior posted a birdie and an eagle on his first two holes and finished off the round with four birdies, one eagle and two bogeys. He finished off the tournament with a 74 (+2) on Tuesday. 
 
Pickeral, who was one of two independent entries for the River Otters this week, matched Moon with a 215 (-1). He was the lone player on the team to finish even or better in all three rounds. Pickeral posted back-to-back rounds of 72 (Even) to open the year. He carded a 71 (-1) on Tuesday to notch a top-15 finish. The senior posted five birdies and just two double bogeys in his best round of the season thus far. 
 
Senior Luke Blankinship and sophomore Trae Fredrickson tied for third on the team with a score of 217 (+1). They both finished tied for 20^th in the field. 
 
Blankinship improved his score with each round. After shooting a 75 (+3) on Monday morning, the senior notched a 72 (Even) in the afternoon. He recorded his first under-par round of the season Tuesday with a score of 70 (-2) to card the best round on the team in the third round. He posted four birdies and two bogeys across his final 18 holes. 

Fredrickson opened his sophomore year with a 71 (-1) with three birdies and two bogeys to place second on the team. He added a round of 72 (Even) on Monday afternoon to finish tied for second on the squad in Round Two. Fredrickson closed out the week with a 74 (+2). 
 
Junior Mason Hill finished as the team's fourth scorer for the tournament. He posted a 70 (-2) on Monday morning to notch the top score on the team in Round One. Hill carded three birdies, an eagle (Par 5 4^th hole) and three bogeys Monday morning. Hill posted a 77 (+5) on Monday afternoon. He bounced back and shot a 71 (-1) on Tuesday. For the week, Hill finished with a 218 (+2) to place tied for 26^th overall. 
 
Sophomore Brady Gless finished fifth on the team. Gless posted scores in the top-four (scoring lineup) on the team in both rounds on Monday. He opened his sophomore year with a 74 (+2) and notched three birdies on Monday morning. Gless notched a 75 (+3) in Round Two. He capped off the tournament with a 77 (+5) on Tuesday. The sophomore posted a 226 (+10) to finish in a tie for 43^rd. 
 
Sophomore Nate Loew was the second independent golfer for Lewis & Clark. The sophomore started the week off with a 76 (+4) on Monday morning. He turned in an 81 (+9) in Round Two but bounced back on Tuesday. Loew notched his best score of the week on Tuesday with a 73 (+1) that included four birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. He closed out the weekend with a score of 230 (+14) to place 48^th. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Men's Golf finished first in the field as a team with a 4.03 average (+4) on Par 4s. 
• Raitanen and Richardson each carded their first collegiate birdies in Round One. Raitanen's score of 97 (+25) was a collegiate-best by 13 strokes. She also recorded the best tournament score of her career (205, +61) by 18 strokes. 
• Moon's round of 68 (-4) on Monday afternoon was the best round of his collegiate career. 
• Frederickson (3.87, -4), Blankinship (3.97, -1) and Moon (3.97, -1) all finished in the top-five in the field on Par 4s across the three rounds. 
• Hill and Moon finished tied for second in the field with one eagle. 
• Pickeral placed tied for seventh with 13 birdies across 54 holes. 
• Blankinship led Lewis & Clark and finished tied for fourth with 37 pars. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Golf will return to action on Monday, September 28 when they travel to The Home Course in Dupont, Washington for the Pacific Lutheran University Invitational.