TUCSON, Ariz. – Defending champion Cal (292, +4) is tied for fifth after the first round of the National Invitational Tournament on Saturday at OMNI Tucson National's Catalina Course. The Golden Bears trail first-round leader New Mexico State (283, -5) by nine shots. Sebastian Crampton led Cal's efforts Friday and is tied for 10th place after an opening-round one-under par 71.

“It was the first round, nobody is pushing the panic button,” head coach Steve Desimone said. “The good news is we have 36 holes left. We'll see how things shake and out hopefully we'll keep ourselves in a good position for Monday.”

Crampton started his day with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes on the par-four first and par-five second. He would later add his third and fourth birdies on the par-five 10th and par-three 12th. His bogeys came on the par-three seventh, par-four 14th and par-five 15th.

“I played 16 great holes today,” Crampton said. “I realistically lost three shots in two holes on the back nine.”

Cameron Shaw is tied for 17th after an opening-round even-par 72, while Alexander Wilson (74, +2) and KK Limbhasut (75, +3) were Cal's other scorers and are tied for 30th and 37th, respectively. Shotaro Ban (76, +4) was the other player in the Cal lineup and is tied for 47th, while Ben Doyle (77, +5) played as an individual and is tied for 59th.

Cal was among teams that teed off in the first wave Saturday and bore the brunt of the day's wind.

“Overall, I'm proud of the guys with the way they dealt with the conditions,” Desimone added. “We played pretty well. It is pretty difficult to hit the golf ball in the winds we had today. We teed off early and most of the wind was in the morning, which is unusual. The teams that teed off later today had the better of the winds. We dodged the rain today but not the wind. We'll hope for better conditions the next couple of days.”

Sunday's forecast calls for a high of 76 degrees and partly cloudy skies with winds ranging from 10-20 miles per hour. Rain is expected to move into the area late in the day on Monday with a high of 69 degrees and winds ranging from 20-30 miles per hour.

Action begins both days at 8 a.m. MST/7 a.m. PST, with Cal teeing off Sunday at 8:45 a.m. Sunday. Tee times for Monday have yet to be determined.

NATIONAL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT (HOSTED BY ARIZONA)
TUCSON, AZ
OMNI TUCSON NATIONAL - CATALINA COURSE (PAR-72, 7262 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. New Mexico State (283, -5)
2. Santa Clara (284, -4)
3. UTEP (287, -1)
4. TCU (289, +1)
T5. Cal (292, +4)
T5. Arizona (292, +4)
7. San Diego (294, +6)
8. New Mexico (296, +8)
9. San Diego State (298, +10)
10. Iowa State (299, +11)
T11. Colorado State (300, +12)
T11. Oregon State (300, +12)
13. Saint Mary's (302, +14)
14. San Jose State (303, +15)
15. Wyoming (310, +22)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Luis Medina (New Mexico State) 68 (-4)

PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T10. Sebastian Crampton (71, -1)
T17. Cameron Shaw (72, E)
T30. Alexander Wilson (74, +2)
T37. KK Limbhasut (75, +3)
T47. Shotaro Ban (76, +4)
^T59. Ben Doyle (77, +5)
^Played as individual