The Briar Cliff golf teams kicked off their spring season at the Las Vegas Shootout at the Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada. The Charger women sit in eighth place following one round on day one, while the men's team checks in at 12th place in a highly competitive field after 36 holes of play.

The Charger women fired a team score of 337 in the first 18 holes, leaving them within striking distance of a top-five team finish. BC sits six strokes behind Embry Riddle (Ariz.) and nine strokes behind Hope International. Nationally ranked No. 2 Oklahoma City University leads the team standings with a score of 305.

"We had another average day out of the gate", said head coach Ben Irlbeck. "All the players shot within a stroke or two of their fall season averages. We made a few adjustments on course management after the round today and I think the team will respond well to it tomorrow. The biggest overall improvements will come on the greens tomorrow. New courses and new greens are difficult to adjust to, especially in the desert."

The ladies were led by Helene Getz Bergmo, who sits tied-for-11th after a round one 79 (+7). Bergmo took advantage of the par-fives, playing them -2 on the day. Bergmo stayed consistent on the day carding a 40 on the front nine holes, followed by a 39 on the back.

Bergmo was followed closely by Kelly Baade who returned to the clubhouse with a score of 83 (+11) and sits in a tie-for-25th. Baade carded eight pars in round one to go along with one birdie. Similar to Bergmo, Baade saw a one-stroke improvement as she recorded a 42 on the front nine, followed by a 41 on the back.

Frankie Valencia and Grace Johanson signed the scores of 87 (+15) and 88 (+16), respectively. Valencia, currently tied-for-37th, found her rhythm on the back half of round one holing four pars and gaining some momentum heading into round two tomorrow. Johanson had a nearly identical round to Valencia as she also found her rhythm in the back half of round one. Johanson carded a 46 on front, followed by a 42 on the back, leaving her in a solo 41st place. Abbigale Miller rounded out the starting five for the Charger women with a score of 97 (+25).

The Charger men played 36 holes on day one of the tournament and sit in 12th place heading into the final round tomorrow. The Cliff golfers stayed consistent through both rounds recording a total team score of 617 (308-309). The Chargers jumped two spots up the leaderboard after round one and are just 16 strokes behind 10th-place Menlo. Nationally ranked No. 4 Ottawa (Ariz.) leads the team standings with an outstanding score of 553 (277-276), shooting -23 on day one.

'The first round didn't disappoint", noted Irlbeck. "We had some fantastic flashes of brilliance and some lows that made us kick a few rocks down the road. We're looking for prolonged runs of better play tomorrow as each player had a run of 6-9 holes at par or better today. We cannot overlook the needed short game improvements if we are wanting to card a few sub-par rounds tomorrow."

Davess Verdugo was the low man for the Cliff totaling a score of 149 (72-77), leaving him a tie-for-38th. Verdugo rolled in ten pars and four birdies in round one, playing the par-fours -2 and finishing the round even par. His second 18 saw six pars and four birdies, leaving him with a 77 (+5) in round two.

Desmond Landin sits in a tie-for-48th after posting a solid score of 152 (78-74). Similar to Verdugo, Landin sunk 10 pars and managed to snag two birdies for a round one score of 78 (+6). Landin improved in round two, signing the score of 74 (+2) after 10 pars and three birdies. Mason Collins rests in a solo 64th place with a score of 157 (79-78). Collins opened his spring slate with eight straight pars and managed to snag one birdie on the back nine, allowing him to card an opening-round 79 (+7). Collins saw a one-stroke improvement in round two after posting 11 pars in one birdie in round to finish with a 78 (+6).

Andrew Arndorfer is in a tie-for-68th with a score of 159 (79-80). Arndorfer's first round saw 10 pars with two birdies, firing a 34 (-2) on the back nine to card a 79 (+7). In round two, Arndorfer recorded the first eagle for the Chargers this season after sinking a 30-foot putt on the 533-yard par five fifth hole. Arndorfer remained steady firing seven pars in his last nine holes of day one to finish off an 80 (+8). Braxton Brockhaus rounded out the men's starting five with a score of 167 (86-81). Brockhaus sunk four birdies on the day and sits in a solo 80th place.

The Charger golfers will be back at Boulder Creek tomorrow for the final rounds of the Las Vegas Shootout.

Chargers at the event (Bold = team low round):
Women:
T11       Helene Getz Bergmo   (79)
T25       Kelly Baade                   (83)
T37       Frankie Valencia          (87)
41         Grace Johanson           (88)
T51       Abbigale Miller             (97)
 
Men:
T37       Davess Verdugo           149 (72-77)
T47       Desmond Landin          152 (78-74)
63         Mason Collins               157 (79-78)
T67       Andrew Arndorfer         159 (79-80)
80         Braxton Brockhaus        167 (86-81)