TUCSON, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) – Behind four players shooting under par, the UNLV men's golf team shot a 14-under 274 to end Friday's opening round of the 2023 Mountain West Championship in second place at OMNI Tucson National (Par 72, 7,194 yards).

Leading the Rebels' quartet, junior Caden Fioroni sank eight birdies on the day to sit tied for the lead at 6-under. Adding to the Scarlet & Gray low round, junior Ben Sawaia (-4) is tied for seventh, freshman Brett Sawaia (-3) is tied for 12th and junior Yuki Moriyama is tied for 23rd (-1). Senior George Leigh (+1) finds himself tied for 34.

Also knotted up atop the individual leaderboard, Fresno State's Matthew Manganello (-6), San Diego State's Youssef Guezzale (-6) and San Jose State's Zubair Firdaus (-6) join Fioroni with a one-shot lead over the next closest competitors in a tie for fifth (-5).

The Rebels dropped in 26 birdies on the day to stand within two shots of the early team leader in SDSU at 16-under. Behind them are New Mexico and Fresno State in a tie for third at 10-under.

UP NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The MW tournament continues Saturday with the second round, which will see UNLV tee off at 9:40 a.m. PT.

NEWS & NOTES:

• UNLV's score of 274 came within one shot of the program record for a conference championship opening round.