April 24, 2014
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV women's golf team posted a first-round score of 15-over-par 303 and sits sixth at the Mountain West Championship, which is being played at the par-72, 6,324 yard, Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the Mission Hills Country Club.
San Diego State carded a five-over 293 today to secure the lead after the first round and holds a one-shot lead over second-place Conference newcomer San José State, which is 6-over at 294 after 18 holes of play. New Mexico completed the first round in third place at 7-over 295, followed by Boise State and Fresno State, who are knotted in fourth at 8-over 296.
Five golfers top the individual leaderboard with identical scores of 1-under 71, including Fresno State duo Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir and Madchen Ly, New Mexico's Manon Mollé, San Diego State's Emma Henrikson and San José State's My Leander. Boise State's Oceane Pelloille and San Diego State's Paige Spiranac are knotted in sixth place at an even-par 72
Junior Dana Finkelstein leads the Rebels and turned in a first round score of 1-over 73. She overcame two early bogeys on the front nine and was sitting at even par at the turn, but bogeyed the par-5, 496-yard No. 11. She finished the rest of the round with seven consecutive pars.
Senior Demi Mak ranks second UNLV and is tied for 12th after carding a 2-over 74 in the first round. The 2012-13 Mountain West Championship runner-up birdied holes No. 9 and No. 12, but made bogeys on No. 1, No. 10, No. 15 and No. 18.
Freshman Avery French turned in the third lowest score for the Rebels and sits tied for 24th at 5-over 77. Junior Mayko Chwen Wang is tied for 36th at 7-over 79 and junior Marguerite Swearingen is tied for 44th at 16-over 88.
UNLV, which is the defending tournament champion, is also looking for three key points in the Governor's Series, presented by NV Energy. The competition between UNLV and Nevada, Reno is in its second year and the Rebels hold an 18.0-9.0 advantage over the Wolf Pack. After the first round, UNLV has a five shot lead over UNR, which turned in a first round score of 20-over 308. To track the scoring, visit the Governor's Series page at UNLVRebels.com
The second round of the 2014 Mountain West Women's Golf Championship will begin Friday morning at 7 a.m. PT, followed by the final 18 holes on Saturday at 7 a.m. Live scoring is available at UNLVRebels.com and GolfStat.com. Swearingnen will be first to tee-off at 7:45 a.m., followed by Wang, French, Mak and Finkelstein.
