Nov. 13, 2002
Complete Results
HENDERSON, Nev. - Despite an amazing comeback on the back nine of her final round, UNLV freshman Sunny Oh fell just a single stroke shy of collecting her first individual victory at the Las Vegas Founders Women's Collegiate Showdown on Wednesday.
Oh, who began the day atop the individual leaderboard, surrendered her lead early in the final round after bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes at Anthem Country Club. Conversely, New Mexico's Kristi Larsen used two birdies on the front nine to overtake Oh for the individual lead.
But the Rebels' star freshman got hot after the turn, scoring five birdies in seven holes. She regained the lead after sinking a 25-foot putt on No. 16 to go to three-under.
"Sunny had one of the better comebacks I've seen in a long time," UNLV head coach Missy Ringler said. "She overcame some nervousness on the front nine, she went on fire, and gave herself a chance to win. That's what you want to do."
With Larsen in the clubhouse with a final-round 69, Oh needed only par or better on the par-4 18th to claim victory. But a three-putt effort on the final hole forced a three-way playoff between Oh, Larsen and Texas A&M's Nicole Melton, who carded the day's best round at 68.
Replaying No. 18, Oh and Melton parred the sudden-death hole, putting the pressure on Larsen. Larsen, however, seemed to feel no pressure as she calmly drained her birdie putt to seal the individual title.
"I would have liked to win, but I can't be too disappointed with the way we all played," Oh said.
The putt also cemented a sweep for the 16th-ranked Lobos, who captured the team title by nine strokes over UNLV.
Led by Oh's 70, which tied her own school record set Tuesday, the Rebels posted a final-round total of 295 and a three-day score of 889. They defeated 14th-ranked Pepperdine by six shots.
"I feel very good about our performance this week," Ringler said. "We played extremely well and lost to a great team. But to be able to finish where we did and beat a quality program like Pepperdine was a big step for this program. Our young players learned what it is like to be in a position to win.
"It's also big in the national picture. We beat many teams that are in our region, which helps with our national ranking, our exposure and a potential bid to a (NCAA) regional."
Rounding out the Rebels' scorecard on Wednesday were Elena Kurokawa (72), Hwanhee Lee (73) and Tina Mabanta (80). Christine Hentzner's 81 was discarded.
Additionally, the team practically rewrote the school record book. The second-place finish in the 15-team field marked the best-ever showing by a Rebel squad. The team posted its best single-round total on Tuesday (291) and 54-hole total (889), and Oh snapped marks for low round (70) and low tournament (215).
The tourney was not only the best in the Rebs' short history, but also their last of the fall season. They return to the links on Feb. 24 when they compete at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
