BOULDER CITY, Nev.— Led by a 1-under par round of 71 from sophomore Hayden Hawley and an even par round of 72 from Hunter Gledhill, the Colorado Mesa University women's golf team recorded their best round of the fall season against high-level competition at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, which got underway Friday here at the Boulder Creek Golf Club.
 
The Mavericks posted a team score of 301 (+13) and are in 11^th place in the 16-team field, which includes 11 of the nation's top 50 ranked teams, including four of the top eight.
 
The Mavs sit one shot ahead of No. 8 Lincoln Memorial and No. 38 Washburn and are two shots ahead of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and 46^th-ranked rival Westminster.
 
No. 3 St. Mary's leads the field at 283 (-5), one shot ahead of top-ranked and defending national champion Dallas Baptist.
 
Hawley made three birdies and two bogeys during a steady round and is tied for eighth out of 88 players through 18 of the tournament's 54 holes.  Her round was equal to her career-best and is also tied for the fifth best in program history.
 
Gledhill's even par round of 72 was also the best of her season to date and has her in a tie for 21^st place of the elite field that saw 28 players complete the round at or below par.
 
The field played the round, which was contested on the Desert Hawk and Coyote Run portions of the complex with a scoring average of 75.49.  The course measured at 6,724 yards.
 
Hillary Currier of tournament host Missouri-St. Louis posted a 4-under par round of 68 and holds the lead by a shot over Point Loma's Allie Nguyen and Arkansas Tech's Jaylee Castro.
 
Gledhill joined Hawley by rolling in three birdies and surged up the leaderboard, making each of those in her final six holes of the day.
 
Maverick junior Allison Sanger also had a solid day, recording a pair of birdies and the Mavs' lone eagle of the day on the par-5, 508-yard fifth hole.  She is in a tie for 47^th place.
 
McKenzie Dolph's score of 82 (+10) rounded out the Maverick effort, which was ten shots better than the former season-best of 311.  She is in a tie for 81^st place and made one birdie.
 
Libby Bourassa also made one birdie and is in 87^th place at 85 (+13).
 
Maverick freshman Brooke Brekke is also playing in the tournament as an individual and is tied for 70^th after recording a 79 (+7).  She sank two birdies.
 
The tournament will continue through Sunday.
 
Saturday's second is slated for a 9 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. Mountain) shotgun start.