It's time to take you inside for the fifth edition of the #RebelTop5. This week's historical feature spotlights the women's golf team and its top players of the past decade (2010-19).
This was not an easy list to compile, so be sure to let us know on social media if you agree or disagree with our #RebelTop5.
And now we present the #RebelTop5 for Women's Golf!Â
No. 5: Elizabeth Prior (2015-19)
Prior came to UNLV from Surrey, England, and turned in an outstanding career as a Rebel. She finished with four collegiate individual medalist honors, including two in her final spring in 2019, the Battle at Boulder Creek and the Rebel Invitational at Spanish Trail in Las Vegas, the latter she won by seven strokes. Prior owns the program's lowest single round score of 8-under 64, which came as a freshman at the 2016 Battle at Boulder Creek, and is tied for the lowest 54-hole tournament score in UNLV history of 16-under 200, which came in a victory at the 2017 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown. Prior is also tied for the second-lowest three-round score of 15-under, which she shot as a freshman. The three-time Mountain West All-Conference honoree was a huge key to the Rebels winning three straight conference championships from 2016-18. Prior also played in NCAA Regionals all four years of her career, qualifying as part of the Rebel championship teams for three and then qualifying as an individual her senior year in 2019.
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No. 4: Alexandra Kaui (2014-17)
Kaui played two seasons at Oklahoma before returning to play for her hometown school and she made the most of her seasons as a Rebel. Kaui was a two-time Mountain West All-Conference selection, earning second team honors as a junior in 2016 and first team honors as a senior in 2017. Kaui's best moment came at the 2016 Mountain West Championships, where she captured the individual medalist honors, winning the tournament by a record five strokes, which still stands to this day. That year she went on tie for ninth place at the NCAA Stanford Regional at 2-over 215 and earned Women's Golf Coaches Association All-Stanford Regional honors. She helped the Rebels capture the first two of three Mountain West team titles in 2016 and 2016. Kaui finished her career seventh all-time in career scoring average at 74.21. She has also qualified for the U.S. Women's Open Championship twice.
No. 3: Mackenzie Raim (2015-18)
Raim from Palm Desert, California, finished her career as a two time All-Mountain West First Team selection and three-time All-MW Academic Team selection. Over her four season, she competed in all but one tournament and ranks fourth all-time in UNLV history in rounds at par or better (25) and is sixth in career scoring average (74.21). As a junior in 2017, she won her first collegiate tournament, tying for first at the prestigious Northrop Grumman Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif., - just a few miles from where she grew up, against a loaded field of top-25 programs in the country. To win the even, Raim sank two birdies over the final four holes to tie for first at 4-under (209) and take medalist honors. A few weeks later she won her second career tournament as she carded a 7-under (209) to win outright at the Battle of Boulder Creek. In 2018, Raim made her last conference championship count with her second-place finish -- the highest of her Rebel career, helping UNLV capture their third straight Mountain West Championship, which tied a conference record.
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No. 2: Therese Koelbaek, 2007-11
The three-time All-American was the fourth Rebel in program history to earn the Mountain West Golfer of the Year honor and was the first in UNLV history and fourth in Mountain West history to earn All-Mountain West honors four times. Koelbaek's senior season in 2010-11 was her finest as she led the conference in scoring average at 72.00 strokes per round, more than one and a half strokes ahead of the next best score. She posted 10 top-eight finishes last season along with 13 rounds under par. Her season-low round of 67 was the third-best single round last season in the MW. Koelbaek earned Golfer of the Month honors three times that season, marking just the second golfer at the time to accomplish the feat. Koelbaek finished the year with a 72.27 strokes per round, at the time setting the program record that was later broken by the No. 1 golfer on this list. She twice carded the lowest round in program history at 66 and her round of 67 during the Las Vegas Collegiate Invitational in 2010 and is tied for the program record for lowest 54-hole score of 16-under with another Rebel on this list,
Elizabeth Prior. Koelbaek was also outstanding in the classroom, earning the 2011 Mountain West Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, adding to her long list of post-season accolades, a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America First Team listing, was a four-time Academic All-MW Team member, three-time NGCA All-Scholar Team honoree and UNLV's 12th Academic All-America first-team selection. Koelbaek twice qualified earned her LPGA Tour card and recently retired from professional golf in 2017.
No. 1: Dana Finkelstein (2011-15)
Finkelstein is one of the most, if not the most, decorated women's golfer in program history. In her senior season in 2014-15, she finished career ranked No. 4 in the country according to Golfweek, No. 6 according to the World Amateur Golf Rankings and No. 11 according to Golfstat. That year, Finkelstein finished runner-up for the ANNIKA Award, which honors the player of the year in collegiate women's golf and became the second player in program history to earn All-America first team honors. She became only the second golfer in conference history to earn Mountain West Golfer of the Year honors three times in her career, joining New Mexico's Jodi Ewart. Her record of five career tournament wins, including three her senior year, still stands in the the UNLV record books.  Is the winningest golfer in school history as she has won five tournaments, including three as a senior ... She posted the lowest scoring average in program history for two straigth seasons ranks third with a career average of 73.26, trailing only Da Sol Chung (73.20) and Therese Koelbaek (73.25). Finkelstein finished her career with 363 career birdies, the second most in program history. The three-time all-region seletion competed in NCAA regionals all four years, which included winning the St. George Regional as a senior and finishing in 18th at the NCAA Championships. She helped the current head coach
Amy Bush-Herzer win her first Mountain West Championship in 2013. A highlight of her postseason career came at the 2013-14 NCAA Championships, when she sunk her first ever hole-in-one. Finkelstein has earned her LPGA Tour card twice and is currently playing on the LPGA Tour in 2020.Â
