UNLV REBELS

Nov. 23, 2006

KAUAI, Hawaii - UNLV freshman Natasha Krishna made the Rebels' first tournament in Hawaii a memorable one for her, as she won medalist honors on Thanksgiving Thursday at the Aloha Purdue Collegiate Invitational. Krishna shot a final-round 69 (-1) on the par-70 Kiahuna Golf Course and carded an overall total of 212 (+2).

Overall the Rebels finished the tournament tied for third with a total team score of 893 (+53) after they shot a final round of 297 as a team during the final round. UNLV ended up tied with Kent State. Purdue won the tournament with a score of 878 (+38) and Pepperdine came in second with a total of 885 (+45).

It was the first medalist honors for Krishna, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, who was playing in just the fifth collegiate tournament of her career. The win marked the ninth time that a Rebel golfer had won medalist honors in the school's five-plus years of golf.

Da Sol Chung also cracked the top 10 for the Rebels, placing tied for sixth with a three-round score of 220 (+10) after she closed the tournament with a two-over 72. Chung was the last Rebel golfer to win a tournament, claiming medalist honors at last year's Mountain West Conference Championships. UNLV senior Seema Sadekar finished tied for 19th at the tournament with a score of 226 (+16).

Rebel freshman Melissa Mabanta, playing in her first tournament in the Rebels' lineup, finished tied for 33rd with a three-round total of 236 (+36). Mabanta had played as an individual in last month's Las Vegas Founders Collegiate Showdown before making the trip to the islands. UNLV's scorecard was rounded out by sophomore Kasi Lee, who came in 41st with a score of 241 (+31).

This was the last fall tournament for the Rebels, who will resume play in the spring at the Wildcat Invitational on Feb. 26-27 in Tucson, Ariz.

T3   UNLV 296-300-297--893, +53
1    Natasha Krishna 72-71-69--212, +2
T6   Da Sol Chung 71-77-72--220, +10
T19  Seema Sadekar 74-75-77--226, +16
T33  Melissa Mabanta 79-77-80--236, +26
41   Kasi Lee 79-83-79--241, +31