May 17, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV freshman women's golfer Da Sol Chung finished third Tuesday in a local qualifying tournament held at Yorba Linda Country Club in Yorba Linda, Calif., and that is the first step in qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open.

Chung finished her round at even-par with a 71, tying Sachie Yoshida of Korea for third, as she also shot a 71 on the afternoon. Tiffany Joh and Sydnee Michaels shared the win as both shot two-under 69.

With her high finish Chung advanced to the section qualifying, which is the final qualifying step for the U.S. Women's Open, which is June 29-July 2 at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I. Chung will now play in a sectional qualifying tournament on June 12 at the Hacienda Country Club in La Habra Heights, Calif.

Her strong play continued an outstanding season for Chung, who was named the MWC Player of the Year and co-Freshman of the Year by the league after she helped UNLV win its third-straight league-tournament title. The freshman won medalist honors at the MWC Tournament and finished fourth last weekend at the NCAA West Regional.

UNLV junior Seema Sadekar also played in the local qualifying tournament, but missed advancing by three shots after she carded an 81 on her round.

Chung, Sadekar and their Rebel teammates are currently preparing for the NCAA Women's Championships, played May 23-26 at the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. It is the second time in the five-year history of the program that the Rebels have advanced to the championships.