Oct. 4, 2004

Sammamish, WASH. - UNLV got off to a slow start Monday in the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, carding a 318 (+30) to finish in ninth place after the opening round at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.

The start of the invitational was delayed 90 minutes due to a thick fog that covered the course.

Elena Kurokawa led the Rebels, shooting a 76 (+4) on the par-72 course. The junior finished the first round in a tie for 15th, six strokes back of leader Karin Sjodin of No. 8 Oklahoma State. Sjodin was the only player to break par with a two-under 70 to grab the first-day lead. Three players are three strokes off the pace at 73 (+1).

Allison Chell shot a 78 (+6) to finish tied for 25th , sophomore Seema Sadekar recorded an 80 (+8), Young Pak shot a 84 (+12) and Hwanhee Lee rounded out the Rebels with a 13-over 85.

Sjodin's low round pushed No. 8 Oklahoma State to the first round lead as the Cowgirls combined for an eight-over-par 296. Pepperdine, the No. 9 ranked team in the country, is two strokes behind Oklahoma State after shooting a 298 (+10). Oregon (300, +12), USC (304, +16) and Stanford (308, +20) round out the top five teams after one round.

Second round play begins Tuesday morning at 10:15 a.m. (PST) and the three-round tournament concludes Wednesday.