WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Stanford started the fall portion of its 2014-15 schedule right where it left off at the end of its previous regular season -- on top of the leaderboard.
The Cardinal is first among the 12-team field at the Southwestern Intercollegiate, as 36 holes of the three-round event at the par-71, 6,964-yard North Ranch Country Club were contested Monday.
At 4-over, Stanford (280-292) is six strokes ahead of second-place Washington State (578). The Huskies fired a tournament-best 2-over in the second round of competition. Host USC (580) is third overall.
Stanford, which collected six wins during the 2013-14 slate, closed its prior regular-season schedule with back-to-back wins. In fact, the Cardinal has not trailed through each of its last 14 days of stroke-play competition, a streak that originated March 28, 2014. Stanford last trailed on such an occasion at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (March 9), when it finished second.
Maverick McNealy (66-72) and Jim Liu (69-69) are tied for first among individuals, with Viraat Badhwar (70-73) in seventh. Patrick Grimes (75-79) is tied for 54th and Dominick Francks (78-78) is tied for 58th.
McNealy was 6-under on the back nine of his opening round, tacking on an eagle on the par-5 15th.
The final 18 holes will be played Tuesday beginning at 8 a.m. (PT). Live results will be available at GoStanford.com.