MARICOPA, Ariz. - UC Riverside is in seventh place at 8-over par after 18 holes at the inaugural National Golf Invitational (NGI) at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.

UCR, while honored to be selected to the first-ever NGI, is no stranger to Ak-Chin. The Highlanders finished fifth out of 20 at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in April when Tiffany Le and Nicole Le each recorded top-20 finishes.  

Several Highlanders went close to their season lows in Friday's opening round in Maricopa. UCR leader Vanessa Betancourt's 72 (E) was her lowest round since carding a 72 in the final round of the Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird Invitational, while Maleyna Gregorio at 73 (+1) and Gabrielle Kiger at 76 (+4) shot their lowest scores since the GCU Invite and Valley Invitational, respectively. 

UC Riverside got out to a positive start on the familiar course, tying for second in the round's first three holes with Betancourt tying for third individually early thanks to a birdie on two. The Highlanders moved to the top of the leaderboard at 2-under par with a birdie from Kiger on three. 

UCR fell slightly in the leaderboard late on the front nine, but was back up top after a few Highlanders made the turn. UC Riverside moved up and down the leaderboard on the back nine, as four of five Highlanders logged two birdies apiece on the final nine holes. 

UC Riverside will resume play from Maricopa in Saturday's second round, teeing off at 8:05 a.m. alongside Grand Canyon. Live results are available on Golfstat for the duration of the Invitational.