October 10, 2007–UNLV women’s golf finished 10th at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational on Wednesday and the Rebels were led by Natasha Krishna, who finished in the top 20 at the tournament, which was held at the Sahalee Country Club.
The Rebels had a team total of 921 (312-302-307, +57) and they also earned the Sahalee Spirit Award, which went to the team that demonstrated the most sportsmanship and team spirit throughout the tournament and was voted on by tournament workers and volunteers.
No. 4 USC won the team title with a team total of 882 (296-291-295—882, +8), which was nine strokes better than fellow Pac-10 member No. 3 Arizona State, which shot an 882 (301-295-295—891, +27). Oregon (900, +36), No. 7 Arizona (902, +38) and No. 22 Arizona (903, +39) rounded out the top five. Belen Mozo of USC and Alison Walshe of Arizona tied for medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 217 (+1), although Moza was named the champion after she posted the lower final round score with a 72 (E).
“This is a tournament that we can build off of and take a lot of positives from,” UNLV head coach Missy Ringler said. “We finished in front of New Mexico and finishing ahead of conference opponents is something that you try to do at every tournament. I also thought that Natasha Krishna played very well, as did Therese Koelbaek.”
Krishna put together three solid rounds of golf, capped by a three-over 75 today on the par-74, 6,172-yard course, and the sophomore finished tied for 18th, the highest placing for a Rebel golfer this season. Her round featured a birdie, three bogies and 14 pars and Krishna avoided putting up large numbers on the course.
Koelbaek, a freshman playing in just her second event, closed her tournament with two solid rounds, posting a second-straight two-over 74 to finish tied for 25th with a three-round total of 228 (+12). Another freshman, Alejandra Guacaneme, tied for 38th with a score of 232 (76-76-80, +16), senior Tonya Choate (79-80-78—237, +21) finished tied for 53rd and sophomore Melissa Mabanta (86-78-85—249, +33) came in tied for 79th to wrap up the Rebel scorecard.
The 16-team field for this year's event featured eight squads that were ranked in the latest Golf World/NGCA Golf Coaches' Poll: No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 USC, No. 7 Arizona, No. 11 Pepperdine, No. 15 Stanford, No. 18 New Mexico, No. 20 BYU and No. 22 California. The field also included Long Beach State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, San Francisco, Washington State and host Washington.
UNLV will return to the links for the Stanford Fall Intercollegiate, which will be Oct. 19-21 at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif.
REPORT: Bryan Haines, UNLV Sports Information