Thad: Closest I can find is wikipedia, which says white goes first. Don't think wikipedia is official though. The original Pente game shipped with 4 different colors.
Found a few links on Go-moku and Go, which all have Black going first in those games.
I don't think there's an official rule for Pente. I'd say follow Go, Black first.
(hide) If you are waiting for your turn, click on "change" next to the "refresh" on the main page, then set refresh the page to 30 seconds to get your turn to move displayed faster. (Servant) (show all tips)