May 6, 2010
Complete First Round Results
STANFORD, Calif. - UNLV women's golf held the first-round lead for the majority of the day before faltering late, and the Rebels are currently tied for sixth at the 2010 NCAA West Regional, which is being played at the Stanford Golf Course.
The Rebels at one point held a three-stroke advantage with the team heading to hole 13, but a surprising rough close by the team's top player dropped them out of the top spot with an 11-over 295. UNLV is just four strokes back of leaders No. 3 Arizona and No. 11 Virginia, as they share the lead with scores of 7-over 291.
Pacing the Rebels are Alejandra Guacaneme and Kristen Schelling, who each shot opening-round scores of even-par 71, which has the duo in a group that is tied for sixth following 18 holes of play. Schelling's play was as even keel as one could get, opening with a bogie on hole one that was followed by 10 consecutive pars before a birdie on hole 12 got her back to even, and she closed her round with six more pars. Guacaname's day was more adventurous, as she mixed four birdies with four bogies over her even-par round.
"It is nice being in the top eight after being one of the first teams out in the afternoon," UNLV head coach Missy Ringler said. "I am proud of the way we played today as Alejandra and Kristen had great starts, putting us in a great position. We are taking things one day at a time and I am confident we will get the scores we need from Therese and Natasha."
UNLV senior Natasha Krishna, playing in her fourth consecutive regional, is tied for 47th after the first round with a 5-over 75, junior Therese Koelbaek is tied for 62nd with a 6-over 77 and Mandi Incorvaia is tied for 114th with a 13-over 84. Koelbaek was actually in position to at the least join Guacaneme and Schelling at even par, but Koelbaek struggled over her final six holes, playing them at six over.
Madeleine Ziegert of San Jose State has the individual lead with a 4-under 67, one shot better than Pia Halbig of Cal who shot a 3-under 68 on the day. There is a trio players at 1-under, for a total of five players who shot under par on the par-71, 6,103-yard course.
UNLV is one of a MWC-record five teams that earned a spot in one of the three regional tournaments, and the Rebels are joined in Stanford by fellow league member Colorado State. Top-ranked UCLA highlights the field, while No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Arizona, No. 6 Alabama, No. 11 Virginia, No. 17 Stanford and No. 23 Ohio State are also teams that are in Golfweek's latest rankings.
The top eight teams and top two individuals not on qualifying teams from each regional advance to the NCAA Championships, to be held May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall and will be hosted by the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
Fans can follow the NCAA West Regional live by CLICKING HERE.
