Sept. 17, 2001
Results
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - The UNLV women's golf team got off to a rocky start in its first-ever tournament on Monday, firing rounds of 327 and 310 in the first two rounds of the Mason Rudolph Championship.
The Rebels sit in 14th place after finishing the day 61 strokes over par at the Ironhorse Course at the Legends Club of Tennessee.
"I don't know if we were nervous about playing 36 holes today or the things that have been going on nationally, but we started out with a lot of big holes," UNLV head coach Kelley Hester said. "We had a lot of doubles and triples in that first 18."
Aside from battling a talented 14-team field, the Rebels also faced difficulties in the airline system, waiting some 10 hours at McCarran Airport before finally catching a flight for Nashville, where the team arrived nearly seven hours later than anticipated.
Shaking off the rigorous air travel best was freshman Hwanhee Lee (77-76--153), who at nine-over is tied for 31st overall.
Although Lee provided the most steady play for the Rebels, the team's low round went to freshman Tina Mabanta, who followed an 81 in the opening round with a 75 in the nightcap. She is 12-over par and tied for 48th overall.
Rounding out the Rebel lineup were junior Erin Borcherts (85-77--162), Angela Olivarri (84-83--167) and Ayeesha Kosugi (86-82--168).
Host Vanderbilt (295-284--579) rolled out to the early lead, shooting a school-record 284 in the second round to take a four-stroke lead. Furman's Jennifer Perri (71-69--140) sits atop the leaderboard at four-under par.
"I told the team that I'm not concerned with where we start, I'm concerned with where we finish, meaning the spring," Hester added. "UNLV golf will see better days. Today just shows us what we need to work on between now and then."
