With weather uncharacteristic of Tucson clouding the sky yesterday, the 1996 Conquistadores Arizona Invitational saw the Wildcat women's golf team get off to a gloomy start.

Shooting a combined 312 on the day, the Wildcats were sitting in 12th place after the first round of the three-round tournament at Randolph North Golf Course.

"We did not play very well today," said UA head golf coach Rick LaRose. " It was very cold this morning, and some of the other teams handled the weather better than we did and played very well."

Topping the leader board was Texas, which finished at 293. Four Pacific 10 Conference teams placed ahead of Arizona, including second-place UCLA (294), third-place Washington (300), and Arizona State, who finished in a tie for fourth place with San Jose State at 301.

In the individual ranks, Andrea Baxter of Stanford shot a 3-under par 69 for the individual lead. Texas Longhorn Heather Bowie finished one stroke behind Baxter to claim second place.

Leading the Wildcats was Jeanne Anne Krizman, who tied for 35th with a 77. Sophomore Heather Graff, in her first tournament since a shoulder injury last semester, and Krissy Register were tied for 46th place, each shooting a 78 on the day.

"(As far as her injury goes), Heather is fine," LaRose said. "She just had a tough day."

Freshman Maria Baena came in at 7-over par 79.

The second round of the tournament continues today with the first tee time set for 7:30 a.m. at Randolf North Golf Course.