SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The New Mexico State Aggies struggled as they returned to the course for their first competition of the spring at the Bruin-Wave Invitational on Monday.
 
The Aggies turned in rounds of 314 and 313 for total of 627 at the San Luis Obispo Country Club to sit 15th after the first day of the tournament jointly hosted by UCLA and Pepperdine.
 
The trio of Viviana Macias, Kacey Dalpes and Camille Orito all came it at 12-over-par 156 through 36 holes as they paced the Aggies.
 
Macias, a senior from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, had the best round of the day with a first round 4-over 76, but suffered an 8-over 80 in the second round on the par 72, 6,250 yard SLOCC course. Dalpes, a senior from Alamogordo, N.M., posted two rounds of 6-over 78. Orito, a junior from Fresno, Calif./Clovis West opened with a 7-over 79 and followed with the best score in the afternoon round with a 5-over 77.
 
Junior Valeria Macias of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, added an 82-78 – 160, while sophomore Kennedie Montoya of Thatcher, Ariz., carded an 81-80 – 161.
 
At 627 the Aggies are a stroke better than UC Irvine at 633 and just two strokes behind Hawai'i and Denver at 625. Co-host UCLA leads the event after two rounds with an even-par 576, 10 strokes ahead of Arizona State at 586 and13 better than San Diego State at 589 in third in a field where eight of the 16 teams are ranked in the Golfstat Top 35.
 
Individually, UCLA's Lilia Vu put a 3-under 69 with an even par 72 for a 3-under 141 total to lead the event. That's one stroke better than the trio of New Mexico's Ingrid Gutierrez, UCLA's Bronte Law and Arizona State's Sophia Zeeb who tallied 36-hole totals of 2-under 142.
 
NM State begins play in the final round of the Bruin-Wave Invitational Tuesday morning in the final groups off the No. 10 tee. The Aggies play with Hawai'I, Denver and UC Irvine starting at 9:35 a.m. Mountain time.