PHOENIX – With three months of rest and preparation in hand, the Aggies burst out of the gate in their first event of the spring season. Across the first 36 holes, NM State shot 17-under par (559) to find itself with an eight-stroke cushion heading into the final round of the GCU Invitational at Grand Canyon University Golf Course in Phoenix.
 
In the morning, the Aggies posted a 280 (-9) to close the first 18 holes three shots clear of the next closest team. That lead only grew in the second half of the day when the Aggies shot 281 (-8) to post one of just two scores better than four under for the second round.
 
Individually, the Aggies recorded three rounds in the sixties, including two from Emma Bunch who closed out the day tied for first after shooting a 66 (-6) in the morning and a subsequent 68 (-4) in the afternoon. The low first round marks the second time that the freshman has posted a 66 this season and equals the Aggies' lowest score of the year. During the first two rounds, Bunch tallied nine birdies while picking up three eagles, including eagling hole 18 twice. Bunch will enter the final round tied with Montana State's Scarlet Weidig who shot a pair of 67s to wind up 10-under.
 
Two other Aggies also played their way into the top 10 after two rounds of action as both Alison Gastelum and Angela Garvin closed their round tied for seventh place – posting scores of 140 (-4). Gastelum's aggressive play led to a 69 in the first round before she managed a second round which featured 15 pars on her way to a 71. Meanwhile, Garvin shot back-to-back 70s while shooting a birdie on eight of the 18 holes throughout the day.
 
The Aggies' final scoring round came from Isabel Laulhé who posted a 74 in the opening round before submitting a 71 in the afternoon.
 
Tomorrow's round will begin at 8 a.m. for the Aggies with Emma Bunch and Angela Garvin going off of hole one while Alison will begin her day on hole two. Lastly, Isabel Laulhé and Kaylee Chen will tee off on the par 5 third.
 

Pos.	Team	R1	R2	Total
1	NM State	279 (-9)	280 (-8)	559 (-17)
2	UC Riverside	283 (-5)	284 (-4)	567 (-9)
T3	Montana State	285 (-3)	290 (+2)	575 (-1)
T3	Seattle U	294 (+6)	281 (-7)	575 (-1)
5	Long Beach State	283 (-5)	293 (+5)	576 (E)
6	Grand Canyon	290 (+2)	287 (-1)	577 (+1)
T7	Cal State Fullerton	292 (+4)	287 (-1)	579 (+3)
T7	UTEP	282 (-6)	297 (+9)	579 (+3)
9	Oral Roberts	290 (+2)	292 (+4)	582 (+6)
10	North Dakota State	295 (+7)	290 (+2)	585 (+9)
11	Houston Christian	287 (-1)	299 (+11)	586 (+10)
12	Northern Arizona	294 (+6)	297 (+9)	591 (+15)
13	North Dakota	305 (+17)	289 (+1)	594 (+18)
T14	Seton Hall	300 (+12)	296 (+8)	596 (+20)
T14	UC Irvine	298 (+10)	298 (+10)	596 (+20)
T14	Idaho	298 (+10)	298 (+10)	596 (+20)
17	Tarleton	300 (+12)	299 (+11)	599 (+23)
T18	Marshall	399 (+11)	302 (+14)	601 (+25)
T18	Northern Colorado	301 (+13)	300 (+12)	601 (+25)
20	Eastern Washington	304 (+16)	311 (+23)	615 (+39)
21	Southern Utah	312 (+24)	307 (+19)	619 (+43)