May 10, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah -
NCAA West Regional First Round Results
UNLV women's golf got off to a rough start at the NCAA West Regional, posting a team score of 319 (+35) after the first round on the Entrada at Snow Canyon course on Thursday afternoon. The highlight of the afternoon though was the play of senior Seema Sadekar, who is tied for ninth after the opening 18 holes.
The Rebels are in 17th place and 32 shots behind the leader, which is Stanford at 287 (+3), meaning UNLV has its work cut out for it to finish in the top six of the 21-team field and advance to the NCAA Championships. BYU and Oklahoma State are tied for second at 291 (+7), followed by Pepperdine at 292 (+8) and Arizona State, which shot a 294 (+10) on the par-71, 6,234-yard course. Pernilla Lindberg of Oklahoma State has the first-round lead with a score of 68 (-3), which is good for a one-shot lead over Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana of Stanford.
Sadekar posted a strong opening round for the Rebels, carding a one-over 72 that featured three birdies and three bogies to go with 12 pars. Sadekar, a senior who has played five tournaments on the Entrada course before this year's regional, was the most steady performer for head coach Missy Ringler's squad. This is the fourth NCAA Regional appearance by Sadekar and it is also UNLV's fifth-straight in the six-year history of the program, with all of them coming with Ringler as head coach.
The other four players in the Rebel lineup were making their regional debuts and the inexperience showed up on the scorecards.
Rebel freshman Natasha Krishna shot a six-over 77 and is tied for 50th, sophomore Nicole McGirr shot an 84 (+13) and is currently tied for 86th, freshman Melissa Mabanta shot a 15-over 86 and is tied for 94th and sophomore Kasi Lee carded an 87 (+16) and is tied for 98th. All four had played the course though just two weeks ago at the 2007 Mountain West Conference Championships, and their scores improved as the tournament progressed.
Friday's second round is slated to start at 7:30 a.m. (PT) and fans can follow the tournament live by clicking here.
