LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The NM State women's golf team is off to a strong start at its home tournament.
 
The Aggies sit tied for first place after firing an eight-over-par 296 in Monday's opening round at NM State Golf Course. Northern Arizona came in at eight-over-par 296, as well, joining NM State atop the leaderboard.
 
"We're in great shape," head coach Danny Bowen said. "We're right where we want to be. Obviously, we would've liked today to be a little bit better, but we had three good scores and were just missing a fourth.
 
"Tomorrow, if we put together four good scores out of our top five, we'll be in good shape."
 
Senior Dominique Galloway once again led the way for the Aggies, posting the team's lowest individual score of the round. She shot a one-under-par 71 and sits alone in fifth place.
 
"She played great all day," Bowen said. "She was real steady. I was proud of the way that she battled today."
 
Freshmen Alison Gastelum and Alexandra Quihuis, playing as an individual, kept pace with Galloway. Gastelum fired a one-over-par 73 and finished in seventh place, while Quihuis tied for eighth at two-over-par 74.
 
Sophomore Amelia McKee shot a three-over-par 75 to tie for 10^th. Freshman Taylor Mieras, playing in her first collegiate tournament, competed as an individual and fired a four-over-par 76 to tie for 15^th.
 
Redshirt senior Angela Xu, playing as an individual, joined Mieras with a four-over-par 76 round, tying for 15^th. Senior Pun Chanachai came in a five-over-par 77 and tied for 27^th place.
 
Junior Kehler Koss rounded out the Aggie fivesome with a six-over-par 78. Sophomore Chantal Dueringer finished at eight-over-par 80, tying for 63^rd as an individual.
 
NM State will look to create some separation from Northern Arizona when the second round of the tournament tees off at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. The final round is set for 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9.
 
"We talked about what we wanted to work on and do a little bit better tomorrow," Bowen said. "36 more holes. There's a lot of golf left."
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RESULTS
T1 -- NM State – 296 -- 296 (+8)
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5 – Dominique Galloway – 71 – 71 (-1)
7 – Alison Gastelum – 73 – 73 (+1)
T8 – Alexandra Quihuis* – 74 – 74 (+2)
T10 – Amelia McKee – 75 – 75 (+3)
T15 – Taylor Mieras* – 76 – 76 (+4)
T15 – Angela Xu* – 76 – 76 (+4)
T27 – Pun Chanachai – 77 – 77 (+5)
T41 – Kehler Koss – 78 – 78 (+6)
T63 – Chantal Dueringer* – 80 – 80 (+8)
*Competed as an individual