SACRAMENTO, Calif. - University of Arkansas senior Stacy Lewis fired a threeunder 69 leading the seventh-ranked Lady Razorback golf team into fourth place after first round action at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday.

Lewis played the front nine two-under with birdies on one and seven and added a final birdie on 16 in a nearly flawless round at Lincoln Hills Golf Club. Arkansas finished the day with a plus-three 291 and is in sole possession of fourth place.

Second-ranked Southern California leads the field with a first-round 283 followed by No. 28 Tulsa in second with 287. Forty-seventhranked UNLV is third with a 288 followed by Arkansas and No. 14 Oklahoma State who opened with a 293 and is fifth overall. A four-way tie for sixth includes No. 27 BYU, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 23 Stanford and No. 18 California all of whom counted a 295. The top eight teams from this regional advance to the NCAA Championship in Albuquerque, N. M., May 20-24.

Arkansas opened the day from the first hole on the par 72, 6, 338-yard Orchard Course at Lincoln Hills. The course is the longest the Lady'Backs have played this year with several shuttles between holes as distances are longer than at most courses.

A strong start by Arkansas was damped a bit by a tough finish in the final holes.

" One through 12 were pretty scorable, " said Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor. The meat of the course begins on about 13 - it's longer and tougher. "

A quick look at the numbers validates Estes-Taylor's point. Arkansas picked up 12 strokes in the final five holes of the course and numbers continued to climb as the day wore on.

" We started solid today, " said Estes-Taylor. " We have again put ourselves in contention to win the tournament. "

In addition to Lewis' 69, Arkansas managed several good scores. Sophomore Kristin Ingram is tied for 25 th overall with a plus-one 73 while junior Lucy Nunn is tied for 39 th with a 74. Freshman Kelli Shean is tied for 47 th overall with a 75 and sophomore Alex Schulte rounds out Arkansas' scores with an 80. She is tied for 94 th overall.

Play continues today and Saturday with the Lady Razorbacks teeing off from the tough 12 th hole at 3: 50 p.m. central today.