Led by Kuenster, Gophers Move into Fourth at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate Showdown

  LAS VEGAS – Led by sophomore Celia Kuenster Monday, the University of Minnesota women’s golf team jumped three spots from the previous day to sit in fourth place after the second round of the 2014 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown at Boulder Creek Golf Club.

Kuenster, a freshman from Mendota Heights, Minn., carded a 76 to open the tournament Sunday, but responded with an impressive round of 4-under par 68 Monday, which included a hole-in-one, and will begin the final round tied for sixth place at even par 144.

Kuenster thrived on the par-3’s during the second round Monday as she went 4-under, and quickly got off to a solid start with a birdie at the par-3 fourth hole to get to 3-over for the championship.

After a bogey on the fifth, Kuenster would again get to 3-over with a birdie at the seventh and followed it with another birdie at the eighth.

A second bogey of the day at the par-4 ninth put Kuenster back at 3-over. Kuenster quickly moved up the leaderboard during the final nine holes Monday as she recorded her first-career hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole to jump to 1-over for the tournament before making birdie on the 13th to draw even.

She rolled in five consecutive pars to finish the round with a career-low 4-under par 68 and moved into a tie for sixth place at 144 with 18 holes to play.

Senior Sarinee Thitiratanakorn opened the tournament with a 2-over par 74 Sunday and responded with an even par 72 during Monday’s second round to sit tied for 16th heading into the final round.

Thitiratanakorn, Bangkok, Thailand, got off to a slow start Monday with two bogeys over the first three holes, but quickly answered with three consecutive birdies to drop to 1-under par for the round.

She would draw even with a bogey at the par-4 ninth and would finish the round at even par with one birdie and one bogey over the final nine holes, putting her in a tie for 16th place at 146.

Freshman Sabrine Garrison fired a 74 during Monday’s second round to sit tied for 21st at 147, while senior Anna Laorr’s 76 Monday moved her into a tie for 25th at 148.

San Diego State University expanded its lead in the team competition to 10 strokes over the University of California-Riverside going into the final round Tuesday, while Haleigh Krause also increased her individual lead to six strokes to lead the way for the Aztecs at 133.

The final round of the 2014 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown gets underway Tuesday with an 8 a.m. shotgun start at Boulder Creek Golf Club.



2014 LAS VEGAS COLLEGIATE SHOWDOWN
BOULDER CREEK GOLF CLUB
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
6,277 YARDS, PAR 72


MONDAY’S TEAM RESULTS
1. San Diego State, 281-291—572
2. Univ. of California-Riverside, 287-295—582
3. UNLV, 289-295—584
4. MINNESOTA, 295-290—585
5. San Jose State, 297-292—589
6. Idaho, 301-291—592
7. Long Beach State, 294-299—593
T8. Gonzaga, 294-300—594
T8. Fresno State, 300-294—594
10. San Francisco, 300-298—598
T11. Indiana, 294-307—601
T11. Colorado State, 304-297—601
T11. New Mexico State, 298-303—601
T11. Michigan, 309-292—601
15. Washington State, 295-308—603
16. Nevada, 302-303—605
17. Tulsa, 310-303—613
18. North Texas, 318-312—630


MONDAY’S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Haleigh Krause, SDSU, 65-68—133
2. Brittani Ferraro, UC-Riverside, 70-69—139
3. Savannah Vilaubi, UC-Riverside, 67-74—141
4. Dana Finklestein, UNLV, 69-73—142
5. Harley Dubsky, UNLV, 74-69—143
T6. CELIA KUENSTER, MINNESOTA, 76-68—144
T6. Megan Osland, SJSU, 74-70—144
T6. Raychelle Santos, Gonzaga, 72-72—144
T9. Georgia Lacey, SDSU, 73-72—145
T9. Hannah Sodersten, Fresno State, 73-72—145
T9. Grace Choi, Michigan, 76-69—145
T9. Emma Henrikson, SDSU, 70-75—145
T9. Ciera Min, Gonzaga, 73-72—145
T9. Kristin Strankman, Idaho, 70-75—145

T15. SARINEE THITIRATANAKORN, MINNESOTA, 74-72—146
T21. SABRINE GARRISON, MINNESOTA, 73-74—147
T25. ANNA LAORR, MINNESOTA, 72-76—148
T66. CARMEN LAGUNA, MINNESOTA, 77-77—154