Gold Rush Day 1

SEAL BEACH, Calif. - The Gonzaga Bulldogs opened their spring season on Monday under rainy conditions in The Gold Rush at the Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, Calif.

The goal heading into the day was to finish the first two rounds, but poor light saw very few competitors from the field complete their second round. The teams will head back to the course tomorrow at 7:45 am to complete the second round, before finishing the tournament with the third round.

Senior Ciera Min paced Gonzaga in round one carding an even-72 to tie for seventh. She finished the day +4 overall and tied for 16th, completing 17 second-round holes. Bianca Pagdanganan was Gonzaga's day one leader, shooting a 73-71 to finish even and tied in fourth place. She only had one bogey in round two after four in round one. Min fought off two double-bogeys in round one by carding four birdies, but was hurt by five bogeys in round two to go with just one birdie.

The surprise of the day was Nina Novilla, playing in the five-spot, but shooting a 77-71 to finish four-over and tied for 16th. The 71 bested her previous career low set earlier this fall by three strokes. Her second round was truly impressive, as she went +1 into the turn, but played a bogey-free back nine with two birdies. Jessica Mangrobang finished +11 in a tie for 50th highlighted by a round-two 73. Jena Gao finished 17 holes in the second round and was +14 in a tie for 68th. Diana Araneta played as an individual and was +23 with two holes left in her second round.

"I am proud of our team and how we went about our business during our first tourney day of the year," Gonzaga head coach Brad Rickel said. "Our competitive spirit has been fantastic and they had an attention to detail in all aspects of the game. The best part of today was Nina and Jessica playing so great during the second 18 of an incredibly long, raining day. I am really proud of the two freshman shooting low scores, this is what we need to take it to a new level. We look to improve tomorrow after having two rounds under our belt."

The Zags currently sit in third place at +15, six strokes back of second-place BYU. San Jose State has a sizable advantage in first at two-under-par at the 6,097-yard par-72 course.