RANCHO MIRAGE (UNLVRebels.com) - With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the UNLV women's golf team is set to compete at the 2021 Mountain West Championship Tuesday and Wednesday this week in Rancho Mirage, California. The two-day, three-round event will take place on the Par 72, 6,270-yard Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the Mission Hills Country Club. The first two rounds will be played on Tuesday, April 20 and the final round on Wednesday, April 21.

The Rebels finished the regular season last week in New Mexico with three individuals - sophomore Elina Saksa, junior Veronica Joels and freshman Madeleine Laux - competing at the Dick McGuire/Branch Law Firm Invitational. Saksa shot a 1-over 217 to finish tied for eighth, marking her fourth top-10 finish in seven tournaments this spring. Joels turned in her second consecutive top-20 finish, tying for 18th at 3-over 219, while Laux finished in a tie for 52nd at 16-over.

In its last team outing, UNLV tied for 11th at the Silverado Showdown in Napa, April 5-7. Overall, the Rebels concluded the regular season with top-10 finishes in four of six tournaments this spring, which included top-five finishes in two of those events. Heading into the event, the Scarlet and Gray rank fourth in the conference in scoring average at 74.50.

UNLV has won the championship four times under head coach Amy Bush-Herzer, including three straight titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Rebels also won the championship event in 2013. The winner of the event will earn the conference's automatic qualifying spot into NCAA Regionals, which will take place in May. The 2021 NCAA Women's Golf Championships are scheduled for May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

THE FIELD: The MW field of conference opponents includes Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNR, UNLV and Wyoming.

THE LINEUP: The UNLV lineup at the championship will be sophomore Elina Saksa, junior Veronica Joels, sophomore Aliyah Williams, freshman Madeleine Laux and freshman Gracie Olkowski.

TEE TIMES:
Tuesday, April 20 (Two rounds): 7 a.m. - Gracie Olkowski; 7:09 a.m. - Madeleine Laux; 7:18 a.m. - Aliyah Williams; 7:27 a.m. - Veronica Joels; 7:36 a.m. - Elina Saksa.
Wednesday, April 21 (One round): Play gets underway at 7 a.m. PT.

LIVE SCORING: Live scoring will be available on Golfstat at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=22796