April 24, 2004
Complete Results
SUNRIVER, Ore. - The No. 20 UNLV women's golf team shattered several school records in the final round of the Mountain West Conference Championship on Saturday and defeated New Mexico by two strokes, ending the Lobos' four-year reign atop the league.
As if knocking off the fifth-ranked Lobos wasn't sweet enough, the Rebels also captured the individual hardware as sophomore Sunny Oh fired a 68 to win by two strokes over New Mexico's Shannon Johnson and Katrina Leckovic.
"This victory was a complete team effort," UNLV head coach Missy Ringler said. "Everybody showed up, everybody contributed, and that's what it takes to win here. That's what it will take for us to advance to the national championship."
The Rebels claimed the league title in just their third year as a program after shooting an eight-under-par 276 as a team at the par-71, 5,851-yard Meadows Course at Sunriver Resort. That score breaks the school record by an amazing 13 strokes, a mark set be the team just 18 days ago in the final round of the BYU Dixie Classic.
The impressive team round led to a four-over par 856 finish for the 54-hole event, besting the school record also shot 18 days ago by 20 strokes.
A great team effort is fueled by superior individual play. Although Oh won the tournament and carded a 68, it was freshman Seema Sadekar who posted the record day. Sadekar covered the course in 66 strokes, breaking Oh's single-round best of 67 shot at last year's NCAA West Regional on the par-72 Karsten Golf Course.
Not only does the 66 mark a UNLV record, but also a tournament record. Sadekar and New Mexico's Kailin Downs both took advantage of friendly conditions to score 66 on Saturday.
"Between them, Seema and Sunny had 28 pars, eight birdies and no bogeys," Ringler said of her top two players.
The 66 and 68 combined with par scores from Hwanhee Lee and Young Pak to account for the Rebels 856 total.
All five Rebels finished in the top 12. Lee held steady to finish fifth overall at two-over. Elena Kurokawa, whose 73 was discarded from the squad's total on Saturday, tied for seventh overall on the strength of an opening round 68. Sadekar leapt to ninth after her monster round, and Pak rounded out the strong team effort tied for 12th.
The win is the second straight for the Rebels, who also won the afore mentioned BYU Dixie Classic on April 6, and third of the year. It is also Oh's second consecutive victory and third in her career.
With all of that in mind, Oh was chosen as the Player of the Year and also named to the All-MWC team. Meanwhile, Ringler claimed Coach of the Year honors. Both awards are firsts in UNLV history.
"Sunny knew going into the tournament that she could contend for the win and needed to in order to get some recognition for the league honors," Ringler said. "She was very determined and took care of business.
With the win, the Rebels earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Regional, which will be played at three different sites between May 6 and May 8. The NCAA Regional pairings will be announced on Monday, April 26.
