MOORPARK, Calif. – The New Mexico State women's golf team saw three Aggie place top-10 at the Moorpark Intercollegiate in Moorpark, Calif., on Friday in the first action of the season for the Aggies. Pun Chanachai also broke the programs all-time birdie record.
 
"Thought we did a good job today or bouncing back from the morning round," said head coach Danny Bowen. "We had some nerves which took about 5 holes to get rid of. Once we settled down, the golf got a lot better. Saw quite a bit of positive play from off of the tee as well as some good iron shots into the greens. We still have some room for improvement with putting speed control and chipping and pitching. Looking forward to taking the positives to next week on a very difficult golf course."
 
At Moorpark Country Club, NM State competed against Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine. Pepperdine posted the best showing of the day finishing with a 2-under 574. NM State finished the day with a 16-over 592.
 
Individually, three different Aggies made appearances in the top-6. Grad transfer Karen Miyamoto impressed in her Aggie debut, finishing fifth with a 3-over-par 147. Alison Gastelum bounced back from a tough first round to post a 69 in round two and finish tied in sixth at +4 (148).
 
"Alison's comeback this afternoon was great to watch," Bowen added. "Playing with more confidence really helped her a lot."
 
Senior Pun Chanachai finished tied with Gastelum for sixth, also at +4 (148). During today's action, Chanachai broke NM State's birdie record and is now the school's all-time leader with 316 birdies.
 
"It was also great to see Pun break our all-time birdie record today, such an accomplishment!" Bowen said.
 
The Aggies now head to Somis, Calif., for the Bruin Wave Invitational March 1-3 at the Saticoy Club. Live scores are available thanks to GolfStat.