On Sunday, Oct. 27, the UC Riverside women’s golf team traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Las Vegas Showdown at the Boulder Creek Golf Club Course. The tournament took place over three days, lasting until Tuesday, Oct. 29. The weather was a cool 63 degrees, giving the golfers a break from the grueling Las Vegas heat.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) hosted the competing schools, which included the University of Nevada, New Mexico State University, Portland State University, Northern Arizona University, Colorado State University and the University of Idaho. The only schools from California to partake in the tournament were the University of San Francisco, Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), UC Irvine and UCR.
In the three rounds played, the Highlanders shot a 312, 317 and 304 for a total score of 933. Among the 18 teams, UCR finished in last place and shot 54 points higher than the first place school, UNLV. Freshman Elena Saksa of UNLV and East Tennessee University junior Tereza Melecka were the top golfers of the tournament, each totaling a cumulative score of 212 in the three rounds.
UCR freshman Nicole Le was the best golfer among the Highlanders, as she scored a 78 in the first two rounds and improved her score in the third round to a 74. Le tied for 48th place with four other golfers, Nevada senior Jenny Krause, Nevada sophomore Danielle Ujimori, Nevada freshman Anitra Khoth and New Mexico State sophomore Amelia McKee. Each of the five golfers finished the tournament with a total score of 230.
Le improved her total score compared to her last tournament, the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate tournament, from 252 to 230.
As for the remaining Highlanders, junior Ping Huang tied for 64th place, shooting a 78, 79 and 76, for a total score of 233. Freshman Jennifer Deng and Nao Bando both tied for 70th place, with each shooting a 235. UCR freshman Mylan Hirata also participated in the tournament, her second of the season.
The Las Vegas Showdown was not the first tournament of the season that the Highlanders have finished last in. They also placed at the bottom at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, which took place from Monday, Sept. 23 to Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The Highlanders will have the next three months to prepare for their next tournament which will be played on Monday, Feb. 10 to Tuesday, Feb. 11. The Battle of the Rock Tournament will be held in Riverside at the Oak Quarry Golf Club.
