Nov. 16, 2004

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - UNLV lost to New Mexico on Tuesday to finish eighth at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

The Rebels fell 4-1-0 to the Lobos as UNLV sophomore Seema Sadekar was the only golfer for UNLV to win her match on the par-72, 3,743-yard course. After opening the tournament with a loss to No. 1-ranked Duke, the 16th-seeded Rebels had reeled off wins against Texas and Purdue before losing to New Mexico.

Sadekar won her match against Ashley Rollins 4 and 2, but the other four matches belonged to the Lobos. UNM's Kailin Downs beat Rebel Elena Kurokawa 5 and 4, Christina Spence defeated Hwanhee Lee 3 and 2, Christine Fernandez beat Allison Chell 5 and 3 and Giselle Claux defeated Young Pak 3 and 1 in the closest match of the day between the two rivals.

UNLV ended New Mexico's four-year reign as Mountain West Conference champions last year, as the Rebels beat the Lobos by two strokes to claim the league title.

Duke won the overall championship, beating Arizona State 4-1-0, while Wake Forest beat Washington 2-2-1 to earn third. The Demon Deacons won more holes than the Huskies did to break their tie.

It was the final tournament of the fall for the Rebels, who open their spring season in Los Angeles, Calif., at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on Feb. 2.

Full results may be found by clicking here.