Feb. 24, 2008

LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's golf opens its spring season at the Wildcat Invitational on Monday, which is hosted by the University of Arizona and features one of the top fields of any event in the country this year.

No less than seven of 16 teams in the field are currently in Golfweek's latest rankings, including teams one through four in UCLA, Duke, Arizona State and USC. No. 7 Auburn, No. 8 Arizona and No. 9 Cal are also in the field, which features a total of 12 teams currently in the top 25.

"We are excited and ready to start our spring season," Rebel head coach Missy Ringler said. "Opening at the Wildcat Invitational is always a good test, especially this year with the field being so strong."

The Rebels' lineup will consist of Therese Koelbaek, Alejandra Guacaneme, Kasi Lee, Tonya Choate and Melissa Mabanta. Nicole McGirr will also be playing in the tournament as an individual. Missing from the UNLV lineup is sophomore Natasha Krishna, who has been sick.

"Unfortunately, Natasha Krishna will not be heading to Tucson with us," Ringler said. "We still feel very confident in our lineup though, and look forward to Therese and Alejandra to getting off to great starts."

The 54-hole event, which will be played at the par-71, 6,238-yard Arizona National, will feature teams playing 18 holes each day, with tee times scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. (PST).

Fans can follow the Rebels throughout the tournament live by CLICKING HERE.