LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV women's golf team shot an 18-over 594 as a team in the first two rounds of the Rebel Beach Invitational Monday at Spanish Trail Golf Club. This is the third annual event co-hosted by the Rebels and Long Beach State.

UNLV junior Samantha Fuller turned in the best performance of the day for the Rebels, shooting two rounds of 72 to sit in a tie for ninth at even. Freshman Elina Saksa sits four shots behind Fuller in a tie for 21st at 4-over, while sophomore Veronica Joels is three shots behind her at 7-over in a tie for 35th. Freshman Dana Puyol will enter the final round in a tie for 46th at 9 over, followed by Cathy Liu in a tie for 53rd at 11-over. Individually, Tori James shot an 8-over to sit tied for 42nd, Luka van der Merwe carded a 13-over to tie for 59th and Aliyah Williams a 14-over in tie for 61st.
No. 3 USC took a commanding lead on day one, carding an 18-under 558 on day one. Fresno State is the next closest in second at 4-under 572, followed by BYU at 10-over (586) in third, New Mexico in fifth at 14-over (590) and UNLV in fifth.

Individually, three Trojans sit atop the leaderboard - Gabriela Ruffels in the led at 8-under, Alyaa Abdulghany in second at 5-under and Allisen Corpuz in third at 4-under. Fresno State's Brigitte Thibault and New Mexico's Kamie Hamada rounds out the top five at 3-under and 2-under, respectively.

STAT OF THE DAY: Only two teams sit under par after the first two rounds (USC and Fresno State), with the third-place team (BYU) 14 strokes behind Fresno State.

REBEL OF THE DAY: Fuller sunk seven birdies over the two rounds Monday.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will conclude the Rebel Beach Invitational Tuesday with the final round beginning at 9 a.m. PT

NOTABLE:
• UNLV has a new look with just two returners from last year's roster. Six new faces have joined the 2019-20 squad.
• Prior to the 2018-19 season, UNLV had won three straight Mountain West titles and made a NCAA postseason appearance in 16 consecutive years.
• Head coach Amy Bush-Herzer is in her ninth year at the helm of the program. She has led her team to a conference championship four times.

-UNLV-