AUSTIN, Texas (May 8, 2008) - ETSU sophomore Laura Jansone (Jurmala, Latvia) fired a 2-under-par 70 to finish tied for fifth on the individual leaderboard, but Jansone and the 42^nd-ranked Buccaneers are currently tied for 16^th after first round play in the NCAA Central Regional Thursday at the University of Texas Golf Club.

The Bucs - who are making their first-ever appearance in NCAA regionals - finished the day with a score of 19-over 307 and are eight strokes out of eighth place on the team leaderboard, which is the cut line for teams wishing to advance on to the NCAA Championships. The 29^th-ranked Texas Longhorns are currently eighth at 11-over 298, while No. 3-ranked UCLA leads the team championship with a score of 5-under 283.

Jansone, who was the Atlantic Sun Conference individual champion, is currently five strokes back of UCLA's Maria Jose Uribe, who is currently atop the leaderboard.

            While Jansone certainly held her own, the rest of the Bucs struggled on the day, with seniors Maria Ringdahl (Farjestaden, Sweden) and Natalia Giraldo (Cali, Colombia) finishing tied for 66^th and 73^rd, respectively. Sophomore Lucy Gould (Bargoed, Wales) finished tied for 81^st.

            Second round play at the NCAA Central Regional will continue on Friday, with final round action scheduled for Saturday. Fans can watch live scoring at Golfstat.com or get a full wrap up of the day's action by visiting ETSUBucs.com following second round play Friday evening.