April 18, 2018
Final Results | @UNLVWGolf
RANCHO MIRAGE, California (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV women's golf finished off a stellar three days at the 2018 Mountain West Championship Wednesday with its third consecutive conference title, marking the first time the program has accomplished the feat since winning three from 2004-06. It it the program's seventh overall league championship and fourth in seven years under head coach Amy Bush-Herzer.
The Rebels were the wire-to-wire winners, shooting an 8-over (872) for the tournament to best second-place San Diego State by eight shots. As a team, UNLV carded their highest score in the final round with a 6-over (294), but had built a big enough cushion thanks to strong first and second rounds, including an impressive 1-under 287 Monday in the opening round.
Mackenzie Raim, playing in her final Mountain West tournament, entered the day in second place and two shots behind Milagos Chaves of SDSU. Raim and Chaves battled all day long, but it was Chaves who came out as the individual champion after beating Raim by just one stroke. Raim capped off her tournament with a 1-under 71 to finish in second at 2-under 214. She made Chaves work hard for that medalist honor as she dropped a birdie on 17 to put the pressure on Chaves to finish the final hole strong.
Overall, four of five Rebels finished in the top 10, with freshman
Polly Mack the next highest Rebel finisher behind Raim in a tie for 8th at 4-over (220). Juniors
Shannon Oh and
Elizabeth Prior each recorded three-round scores of 5-over 221 to tie for 10th, while sophomore
Nastasia Kossacky rounded things out in a tie for 21st at 13-over 229.
For the second straight year the Aztecs finished behind the Rebels after carding a 16-over (880) for the tournament, followed by Colorado State in third at 31-over (895), New Mexico in fourth at 38-over (902), UNR in fifth at 39-over, San Jose State in sixth at 46-over, Fresno State in seventh 49-over, Wyoming in 8th at 63-over and Boise State in ninth at 66-over.
The victory ensures the Scarlet & Gray will play in their 16th consecutive NCAA regional.
REBEL OF THE DAY: Raim made her last conference championship count with her second-place finish -- the highest of her Rebel career. The Palm Desert native shot two of three rounds under par - a 2-under Monday and a 1-under Wednesday - to mark her second lowest three-round score of the season.
QUOTABLES: Head coach Amy Bush-Herzer -
"I can't say enough about this team and how they performed this week and all year. This is our fourth tournament win this season and it's so hard to win one let alone four, so I couldn't be more proud of them. I'm so happy for Mack [Mackenzie Raim] in her last tournament, she played great all three days and earned every bit of that second place finish."
REBEL SCORES: - 2nd -- Mackenzie Raim, senior (70-73-71-- 214, -2)
- T8th -- Polly Mack, freshman (75-71-74 - 220, +4)
- T10th -- Shannon Oh, junior (72-73-76 -- 221, +5)
- T10th -- Elizabeth Prior, junior (72-74-75 -- 221, +5)
- T21st -- Nastasia Kossacky, sophomore (73-82-74 -- 229, +13)
TOP FIVE TEAMS:1. UNLV (287-291-294 -- 872, +8)
2. San Diego State (298-292-290 -- 880, +16)
3. Colorado State (306-295-294 -- 895, +31)
4. New Mexico (298-300-304 -- 902, +38)
5. UNR (302-295-306 -- 903, +39)
REBEL NOTES:
• UNLV was the only team to record a single-round team score under par in the entire tournament, while they had the best team score two of the three days
•The Rebels won three consecutive MW titles for the first time for the first time since since they won three in a row from 2004-06
•The victory marks the fourth tournament win for the Rebels this year. UNLV won three tournaments during the 2017-18 regular season, including two tournaments this spring, both in Las Vegas. Two of the victories were its home-hosted tournaments - the 2017 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown in October andthe inaugural Rebel Beach Invitational at Spanish Trail Golf Club at the end of February. • Senior Mackenzie Raim recorded her highest individual finish at the conference tournament in her final league tournament
• The victory guarantees UNLV's 16th straight NCAA Regional appearance
• The Rebels have now won four conference championships in seven years under head coach Amy Bush-Herzer
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebels will play in their 16th straight NCAA Regional, May 7-9.
