CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV women's golf team is being represented at NCAA regionals this year by a pair of individual participants - sophomore
Polly Mack and senior
Elizabeth Prior- and Monday the two tee'ed off at the Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, Washington.
Mack, a two-time Mountain West All-Conference selection, carded a 5-over 77 in the first round, while Prior - a three-time all-conference honoree - came in a shot behind Mack at 6-over 78. Mack will enter day two tied for 64th and Prior will begin the second round in a tie for 74th.
Mack and Prior will play together in Tuesday's second round with a tee time of 9:20 a.m. on the 10th hole.
In the team portion of the event No. 1 ranked USC shot a 7-under 281 as a team to end day one with a three shot lead over second-place Northwestern at 4-under 284. Site host Washington is just one shot behind the Wildcats at 3-under (285), followed by Arkansas in fourth at 1-under (287), San Jose State in fifth at 1-over (289) and UCF in sixth at 2-over (290).
UCF's Anna Laura Collado carded a 6-under 66 to sit atop the leaderboard with a one-shot lead over Oregon's Kathleen Scavo at 5-under 67. Northwestern's Stephanie Lau and Washington's Reno Sasaki are tied for third 4-under (68), while three players - Arkansas' Maria Fassi, USC's Gabriella Ruffels and Ohio State's Yuki Sasaki - are all tied for fifth at 3-under (69).
The top six teams and the top three individuals not on those teams will advance to the 2019 NCAA Championships, which are set for May 17-22 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
REBEL SCORES:
TOP SIX TEAMS
1. USC (281, -7)
2. Northwestern (284, -4)
3. Washington (285, -3)
4. Arkansas (287, -2)
5. San Jose State (289, +1)
6. UCF (290, +2)
REBEL NOTES:
• The Rebels finished third at the Mountain West Championships, ending a streak of three consecutive league titles and 16 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances
• UNLV finished in the top-10 in five of six and in the top six in four of six regular season tournaments this spring, including a first-place finish at the Battle at Boulder Creek and a second place finish at Rebel Beach
• Polly Mack earned her first outright victory at the Mountain View Invitational this spring with a career-low 54-hole score of 10-under. She was named Mountain West Women's Golfer of the Week for the second time this spring after her victory
• The Rebels finished second at their second annual Rebel Beach Invitational at Spanish Trail Country Club in February, which is co-hosted by Long Beach State. Prior blew out the field with a seven-shot victory for her second straight tournament win
• The Rebels opened the spring with a team win at the Battle of Boulder Creek, with Prior and Mack tying for medalist honors
• Prior and Mack were named Co-Mountain West Women's Golfers of the Week after their win at Boulder Creek, then Prior earned it a second consecutive week after her win at Rebel Beach
• The Rebels have won three straight MW titles two different time in their history - 2004-06 and 2016-18
• UNLV has won four conference championships in eight years under head coach Amy Bush-Herzer