UNLV women golfers receive NCAA regional invite

Adam Candee

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.

With a sense of expectation rather than surprise, the UNLV women's golf team earned an at-large berth to the NCAA regionals Monday.

The Rebels received a No. 10 seed to the 21-team West regional at Arizona State's Karsten Golf Course May 8-10.

Rebels coach Missy Ringler received the news early in the afternoon, confirming the program's first trip to the NCAAs.

"We're very excited," Ringler said. "It's something we worked for all year. It was one of our goals as a team."

UNLV enters the NCAAs off a difficult loss in the Mountain West Conference tournament at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. After beginning the final day tied for the lead with New Mexico, the Rebels watched the tournament come down to the 54th and final hole with the Lobos pulling out a one-stroke victory.

"What a horrible thing for the girls," Ringler said. "They worked so hard and played pretty well. I told them that it wasn't a one-hole tournament, it was a 54-hole tournament."

Standout freshman Sunny Oh, who lost a playoff in LPGA Monday qualifying the previous week in Las Vegas, led UNLV at 4-over 218, but finished one stroke behind champion Katrina Leckovic of New Mexico.

Elena Kurokawa (T-4), Christine Hentzner (6), Hwanhee Lee (8), and Erin Borcherts (10) paced the Rebels in Oregon.

Ringler said the sting of the narrow loss is certainly dulled by the fledgling program's trip to Phoenix. It is also something that Ringler can use to get into the homes of prospective players.

"It's wonderful for the program in the aspect of being able to recruit," she said.

The top eight teams and two individuals from each regional qualifier will advance to the NCAA championships at Purdue's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., May 20-23.