Wednesday, April 20, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.
Adam Candee covers golf for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at [email protected].
What fond memories Missy Ringler and her girls have of freezing rain and howling wind in late April in Oregon.
It's not some self-loathing thing, and they didn't get a really smokin' deal at a Gore-Tex sale. Last year at this time, Ringler's UNLV women's golf crew had just ended New Mexico's four-year run as Mountain West Conference tournament champions. They beat the Lobos by two strokes at the Meadows Course at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., and sophomore Sunny Oh claimed medalist honors.
Ah, the good old days. Or not-so-old ones.
The Rebels return Thursday to the scene of the tournament that vaulted them toward their first appearance at NCAA nationals, ranked 25th in the nation by Golfweek and looking to continue recent momentum as they again battle with New Mexico for the conference crown.
UNLV won the BYU Dixie Classic two weeks ago for the third consecutive season, its second tournament win of the year and first of the spring. Ringler said her team is primed to compete, something she's not been confident in saying throughout a transitional year.
"They really played well at BYU," Ringler said. "That tournament is a really good bouncing board for us. It helps with our confidence."
After a hiccup to start it, it's been a much better spring for the Rebels after a mediocre fall. After rebounding from a dismal start of the season to win their home tournament in November, the Rebels opened spring by finishing second-to-last at the Northrop Grunman Regional Challenge against the best teams in the nation.
As junior Elena Kurokawa has emerged as the strong No. 1 player that Ringler needed, though, UNLV is hitting stride at the right time of year. The BYU win was preceded by a sixth and a fourth.
In her past four tournaments, Kurokawa has finished no lower than eighth, including a second and a fourth. Her 74.6 stroke average is easily the team's best. Ringler waited for most of the year for someone, anyone at all to step into Oh's former role as the team's top player.
Kurokawa obliged - better late than never - once Ringler convinced her that par is not a bad score, that chasing bogeys with aggressive play is not always the way to go. Kurokawa is up to 38th in the Golfweek national individual rankings.
"She's brought it," Ringler said of Kurokawa. "She's worked hard. She's completely due to win a tournament."
It's not just the strong play that the Rebels needed from the No. 1 slot. Ringler feels that her young team needs to be able to take aim at a top gun for motivation.
"Within the team, they're very competitive with one another," Ringler said. "They all want to win as a team, but they all want to win themselves as well."
There's more motivation this week against those pesky Lobos, the country's 14th-ranked team. The Rebels apparently won't be, like, mall-hopping or swapping Ouija board secrets with the gals from New Mexico anytime soon.
"They're excited. They feel the rivalry with New Mexico," Ringler said. "That's really exciting for me."
It's also potentially exciting for the Rebels that this year's nationals will be held right there in Sunriver, where they have played numerous times in the past two years. If they can make it that far, the Rebels would have a nice advantage on the par-71, 5,851-yard course that is likely to be lengthened a bit for its day in the spotlight.
UNLV, which heads to Sunriver for its conference tournament next week, is ranked fourth in the national golf coaches' poll. The Rebels earned one first-place vote and sit behind Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Georgia. New Mexico is one spot back in fifth.
And you may not believe this one, but you'll just have to trust me: Moore maintained his spot atop Golfstat's individual ratings as well.
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