Las Vegas, Nevada (April 17, 2010)–There are two UNLV lady golfers battling for the individual championship at the Mountain West Conference Golf Championships being played at Black Horse Golf Club in Seaside, California. UNLV junior Therese Koelbaek is in 6th entering the final while junior Alejandra Guacaneme is in 9th. UNLV, as a team, is in fourth, 16 shots behind defending champ New Mexico.–UNLV and staff report.
Koelbaek, who was the conference player of the month in March, shot a second straight 4-over 76 for a two-round total of 152 (+8), and the Rebels as a team carded a +17 for a team total of +37, following the day's second round. New Mexico maintained its team lead and has a total of +21, while TCU and Colorado State are tied for second with scores of +32. Rebecca Hellbom of New Mexico has the individual lead with a 1-over, good for a one-stroke lead over teammate Jodi Ewart.
Guacaneme had a two-round total of +10 after she shot a second-round 78 on the par-72, 6,009-yard course. Mandi Incorvaia and Kristen Schelling are next on the leader board, as the duo is in a group that is tied for 15th with scores of +11. Schelling turned in the best round of the day by a Rebel, carding a 1-over 73 that featured three birdies on the front nine. Rounding out the UNLV scorecard is senior Natasha Krishna, who is tied for 24th after with a score of +14 following rounds of 80 and 78 over the first two days of the tournament. Saturday's final round gets underway at 7:30 a.m. (PT), while the Rebels will tee off beginning at 8:20 a.m.
New Mexico won last year's team title, marking the second consecutive championship and sixth overall for the Lobos in the 10-year history of the tournament. UNLV won three-straight titles from 2004-06. UNLV and UNM are the only two programs to win more than one championship, and TCU is the only other program that has even won one tournament, and that was in 2007.
Koelbaek was selected the Mountain West Conference Women's Golfer of the Month for March, the third time in her career that she had earned the conference’s monthly honor. A native of Holte, Denmark, Koelbaek turned in three top-11 performances for the month. She shot a 1-over 217 at the Bruin/Wave Invitational to finish 10th. She started the tournament with a 2-under 70, and followed with rounds of 73 and 74 to post a 54-hole total of 1-over 217 (70-73-74) on the par 72, 6,282-yard Robinson Ranch Golf Course.
The following week Koelbaek helped UNLV capture the team title at the 2010 UNLV Spring Invitational on March 8-10 in Boulder City, Nev., after pacing the 93-golfer field and earning the tournament's individual crown. She opened the tournament with a 4-under 68, and followed with two consecutive rounds of 1-under 71 to total a season-low 6-under 210 (68-71-71) on the par 72, 6,246-yard Boulder Creek Golf Course. Koelbaek's individual victory was the third of her career at UNLV, and her three individual titles are tied for the most by a single player in program history.