March 1, 2004
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STORYLINE: The No. 24 UNLV women's golf team will begin competition for the second time in eight days as it heads to Salinas, Calif., to challenge the field at the Spartan Invitational. The 54-hole event will span two days at the Corral de Tierra Country Club (Par 72, 5,938 Yards), with two rounds slated for Tuesday, March 2 and the final 18 to be played on Wednesday, March 3. Fresh off their fifth-place showing at last week's Wildcat Invitational, the Rebels climbed into the Golfweek/Sagarin top 25, ranked 24th in the Feb. 28 edition of the rankings.
ABOUT UNLV: The Rebels return four starters and eight letterwinners from last season's NCAA Regional-qualifying team. UNLV began the 2003-04 campaign in improbable fashion, winning the Northwest Invite in Sunriver, Ore., by 12 strokes over TCU. Sunny Oh, who held a share of the lead after two rounds, tied for third and was joined in the top 10 by Hwanhee Lee and Seema Sadekar. The Rebels opened the spring portion of the schedule strong as well, finishing fifth at the Wildcat Invitational and defeating four top-25 teams.
THE SPARTAN INVITATIONAL: UNLV has competed in the Spartan Invitational in each year of the program's existence, marking its third trip to the event this week. Last season, UNLV finished fifth at the Spartan, defeating Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and host San Jose State. Individually, Hwanhee Lee and Sunny Oh led the way, tying for 14th place at seven-over par.
THE FIELD: A 15-team field will compete in Salinas, including five teams ranked in the top 25 of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. The San Jose State University hosts: Cal State Monterey Bay, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada-Reno, New Mexico State, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Francisco, UCLA, UC Irvine, Washington and UNLV.
THE LINEUP: The Rebels' five-player lineup for the Spartan Invitational will be Elena Kurokawa, Hwanhee Lee, Sunny Oh, Young Pak and Seema Sadekar. Additionally, Erin McGough will play as an individual.
HEAD COACH Missy Ringler: UNLV women's golf head coach Missy Ringler is in her second year at UNLV. The Bloomington, Ind., native guided the Rebels to their first postseason appearance last season, sent a player to the national championship and produced the school's first All-American in the sport. An All-Big Eight golfer at Iowa State from 1990-95, Ringler spent three years as the head coach at the University of Minnesota before taking over the UNLV program in its second year. She and her husband, Lance, welcomed their new son, Landon, on January 11, 2003.
