April 3, 2006

ST. GEORGE, Utah - UNLV women's golfer Seema Sadekar was the only player below par after Monday's opening 18 holes of the BYU Dixie Classic, being played at Entrada at Snow Canyon.

The junior's strong start, Sadekar made two birdies and 16 pars on her way to a two-under 70, has the Rebels in second place with a team total of 301 (+13), just two strokes behind New Mexico, which shot a 299 (+11).

On a day when high scores were being recorded on the par-72, 6,151-yard course, Sadekar was steady throughout in firing her lowest score this season. She opened with a birdie on the par-five first hole and then made 14-straight pars before getting another birdie on the par-five 16th. Sadekar then closed her round with two more birdies to finish under par and with the first round lead.

Giselle Claux of New Mexico and Jennifer Tucker of Idaho both shot even-par rounds and trail Sadekar by two strokes while there is a group of four golfers next at two-over par. Idaho (308, +20), New Mexico State (313, +25) and host BYU (315, +27) round out the top five at the classic, which UNLV has won the past three years.

Da Sol Chung and Elena Kurokawa are both in the top 15 for the Rebels as Chung fired a three-over 75 to finish eighth and Kurokawa carded a five-over 77 to finish in a tie for 15th. Grace Woo is tied for 25th after an opening-round 79 (+7) and Kasi Lee rounded out the Rebels scorecard with an 84 (+12) and she is tied for 63rd.

UNLV also had two individuals playing in the tournament, with Young Pak currently tied for 38th after she shot an 81 (+9) and Allison Chell is tied for 78th with an 87 (+15)

The tournament continues tomorrow with teams slated to tee off at 7:00 a.m. (PST). Fans can get full results and follow the tournament live by clicking here.