UNLV women reprise 2004 performance

Adam Candee

Monday, April 25, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.

The challenging weather in Sunriver, Ore., lived up to its billing, but so did the UNLV women's golf team.

For the second consecutive year, the Rebels bested New Mexico to win the Mountain West Conference tournament at the Meadows Course at Sunriver Resort. On a nasty day of wintry weather Saturday, UNLV outlasted the Lobos to finish at 46-over, good for a two-stroke victory.

Rebels junior Elena Kurokawa took medalist honors as well, firing a three-day total of 1-over to cruise to a four-shot win. She was named Mountain West player of the year after the tournament.

Sophomore Seema Sadekar helped the Rebels by posting a total of 12-under on the par-71 course to place sixth. The team victory earns the Rebels an automatic berth into NCAA regional play beginning May 5. Their seeding and location is to be announced later today.

After watching her 25th-ranked team build a five-stroke lead in the first round, UNLV coach Missy Ringler sweated out Saturday's final round as the players battled the elements. Temperatures hovered in the 40's all day and nearly an inch of rain fell throughout the day.

"(Saturday) was basic torture for the final round," Ringler said. "It rained the entire day, steady rain, and it was freezing, but we held in there."

The Rebels and the Lobos, who entered the tournament ranked 14th in the nation by Golfweek, traded shots all day in the final round. With only Kurokawa left on the course, UNLV held a one-stroke advantage. Trouble arrived for the Rebels when Kurokawa put her approach shot at No. 18 into a difficult front bunker position.

Ringler has been stressing the need for Kurokawa to make important pars throughout the spring. Kurokawa has responded by becoming the best golfer in the Mountain West, and she demonstrated how Saturday by finding a way up and down from the trap to save par and push UNLV to its two-shot win.

"She understands that she's got to do that and that will help her win golf tournaments," Ringler said of Kurokawa's par ability.

The victory is especially sweet for the Rebels considering the trials they have been through this year. After losing All-American sophomore Sunny Oh to an early departure, Ringler's team stumbled out of the gate in both the fall and spring seasons as it struggled for leadership.

As Kurokawa emerged, though, UNLV followed suit. It appears the Rebels could be playing their best golf of the year at the right time once again.

The conference tournament win is UNLV's third of the year. Ringler said this year's conference crown carries a different meaning than last year's did.

"It feels very satisfying because we have had such an up-and-down year," Ringler said. "But we've known as a team that we were better than we were playing."