UNLV women’s golf coach Amy Bush-Herzer said her team wasn’t done yet when they won the Mountain West and made it into an NCAA regional.
They’re still not done.
The Rebels are headed to the national championship next week after finishing fourth in their regional in Columbus, Ohio. A steady final round of 1-under 287 on Wednesday left UNLV at 4 over for the week at Ohio State University Golf Club.
The Rebels join No. 23 Kansas (6 under), No. 2 Arkansas (3 under), No. 14 Ohio State (1 over) and No. 10 LSU (18 over) as teams to emerge from the regional and earn spots in the national championship, which begins May 16 in Carlsbad, California.
“This is just the icing on the cake for the season,” Bush-Herzer said. “(The players) just continue to impress me.”
Bush-Herzer’s team has relied on all five players throughout the season. That was on full display in Columbus where each finished in the top 21 of the 65-player field.
Senior Toa Yokoyama led the way at 3 under in a tie for fourth, followed by senior Mayumi Umezu (2 over, 14th), senior McKenzi Hall (4 over, 18th), and senior Hina Matsui and sophomore Zi Yu Foong, both at 5 over in a tie for 21st.
Kansas sophomore Lyla Louderbaugh ran away with the individual title after a final-round 65 took her to 12 under for an eight-shot victory.
Bush-Herzer said her team’s attitude going into the tournament played a major role in the steady golf it played all week.
“We came in with a focus on having fun in case this was our last time together,” she said of her senior-heavy group. “We made it about celebrating each other and celebrating our time together.”
While the Rebels were under par in both the first and third rounds, they most likely punched their ticket to the national championship during Tuesday’s second round. The Rebels shot 6 over that day in steady rain, cold and wind that made scoring difficult. They had the second-lowest round of the day and bettered the scoring average by almost 12 shots.
The Rebels will now prepare for the national championship, where 30 teams will take part in three rounds of stroke play. Half the field will be cut before one more round of stroke play, with the top eight teams moving on to two days of match play to decide the national title.
UNLV is ranked 39th and will be facing the best teams in college golf, but Bush-Herzer warned those who would discount her team’s chances.
“This team is ready to fight,” she said. “Watch out world.”
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at [email protected]
