LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A pair of Thunderbirds are tied for third on the leaderboard and the team sits in seventh place through the first of three rounds at the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational at New Mexico State Golf Course.

Through 18 holes both Chanikan (Pluem) Yongyuan and Kyla Smith sit with a one-under 71 and are tied for third with five other golfers. Both are just two shots off the lead heading into the second day of competition with the third and final round set for Wednesday.

"Both Pluem and Kyla played very solid rounds of golf for us today, were excited about the position they've put themselves in heading into the rest of the tournament," SUU head coach Richard Church said.

The other three T-Birds in SUU's scoring lineup all carded a 78 on Monday, leaving Lindsay Aleman, Kamonwan (Poy) Prasurtwong and Launa Wilson all in a tie for 58th.

The Thunderbirds finished the first of three days in seventh place as a team, shooting a 298.

Two Thunderbirds are playing as individuals this week, as Tori Thomas carded a 79 on Monday and Lexi Hamel scored an 88.

Through the first round UTEP (290) leads the tournament followed by Oral Roberts (292) and California Baptist (294).

UTEP's Valeria Mendizabal is the top player in the field through 18 holes after carding a 69 on Monday.

Tuesday's second round will be an 8:30 a.m. MT shotgun start.

Live stats for the event are available on www.golfstat.com.

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