April 13, 2002

STANFORD, Calif. - UNLV freshman golfer Hwanhee Lee carded one-over par 73 in the first round of the Peg Barnard Collegiate on Saturday and sits tied for third place, just one stroke behind the first-round leader.

Lee will have her work cut out for her in Sunday's final round as 10 golfers are either tied for the lead or within a single stroke. Eight players finished the day at one-over, trailing San Jose State's Marcela Leon and Washington State's Tasha Browner for top honors.

"This is a hard golf course, and she plays hard courses well," UNLV women's golf head coach Kelley Hester said of Lee. "Because she hits straight and putts well, I think she has a shot going into tomorrow."

Lee played par golf most of the day, registering a tournament-best 15 pars through 18 holes.

Should she win, she would have a good chance at earning an individual berth at next months' NCAA Regional.

As a team, the Rebels are tied with Oregon State for 11th place in the 14-team field after shooting 317. Washington was the only school to break 300 on a tough par-72 Stanford Golf Course, shooting 297 to top the team leaderboard.

Although Lee competed with the tourney's best, the most pleasant surprise came from freshman Christine Hentzner, who is tied for 19th after shooting a career-best 76.

Rounding out the team total were Tina Mabanta and Erin Borcherts, turning in an 83 and 85 respectively. Autumn Monteiro's 91 was discarded from the team total.

UNLV plays the final round of the 36-hole tourney on Sunday at 8:30 a.m.