Sept. 24, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - First Round Results
UNLV women's golf opened up the 2007-08 campaign with a rough first round Monday at the Margaret Branch NCAA Fall Preview, which is being played at the University of New Mexico Championship Course.
The Rebels carded a team total of 315 (+23) and are 18th after 18 holes of play, trailing first-round leader and defending national champion Duke by a wide margin after the Blue Devils grabbed the lead with a five-under 287. The only other team to shot under par was UCLA, which has an opening-round score of one-under par 291 and is in second place. USC (292, E) is third, followed by Arizona State (295, +3) and Vanderbilt (295, +3), which are tied for fourth. Taylore Karl of Pepperdine is the individual leader after she shot a six-under 67 on the par-73, 6,351-yard course.
"This tournament features the toughest field of any event besides the NCAA Championships and our team doesn't have the tournament experience collectively right now that other programs have," UNLV head coach Missy Ringler said. "I am really proud of the play of our freshmen and I am looking forward to the next two days and know we will learn from this opening round and improve as a team."
Those two Rebel freshmen were Therese Koelbaek and Alejandra Guacaneme, who both were making their collegiate debuts today.
Koelbaek has the strongest round of the day, turning in a two-over 75 that featured two birdies and four bogies that placed her tied for 36th after one day of play. Guacaneme was just a stroke behind, posting a three-over 76 on her round. She was at even par with four holes remaining, but three bogies over that final stretch moved her into a tie for 46th.
Rebel sophomore Natasha Krishna is tied for 60th with a score of 78 (+5), senior transfer Tonya Choate currently is tied for 90th with a score of 86 (+13) and junior Nicole McGirr sits 93rd with a total of 93 (+17). Krishna and McGirr were the only two Rebels who had Division-I golf experience before today, as Choate transferred to UNLV from Division-II Drury University.
Tuesday's second round is slated to start at 7:00 a.m. (PT) and fans can follow the tournament live by CLICKING HERE.
UNLV TEAM SCORE
18. UNLV 315 (+23)
UNLV INDIVIDUALS
T36. Therese Koelbaek 75 (+2)T46. Alejandra Guacaneme 76 (+3)T60. Natasha Krishna 78 (+5)T90. Tonya Choate 86 (+13)93. Nicole McGirr 90 (+17)
