Feb. 7, 2005

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The No. 25 UNLV women's golf team had a difficult beginning to its spring season Monday afternoon, shooting a 316 (+32) at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.

The Rebels could not find consistency on the par-71, 5,912-yard course at Palos Verdes Golf Club, as UNLV players fired six birdies and an eagle but also had 29 bogies.

UCLA opened the tournament with a first-round low of 289 (+5), as the No. 3 Bruins had three players finish in the top four. Brittany Lang of No.1 Duke shot a three-under 68, which was the low individual round of the day. The Blue Devils are in second place as a team after carding a 293 (+9).

UNLV sits in 15th place as a team but had Elena Kurokawa and Hwanhee Lee in the top 20 after both shot a 75 (+4) in their opening rounds and are currently tied for 19th.

Young Pak sits 64th place after her round of 80 (+9) and Seema Sadekar and Tina Mabanta are in a tie for 78th after they both opened the tournament with an 86 (+15).

Rounding out the top five on the leader board are Kailin Downs of eighth-ranked New Mexico and Karin Sjodin of seventh-ranked Oklahoma State, who are tied for fifth with an opening-round score of 72 (+1). No. 10 Pepperdine is in third place as a team after shooting 296 (+12) while sixth-ranked Washington and Oklahoma State are tied for fourth with a 297 (+13).

The invitational, which features 14 of the top 25 teams in the country according to Golf World magazine, continues tomorrow with second round action scheduled to tee off at 9:00 a.m. (PST).

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