North Texas Daily

Brett Medeiros / Staff Writer

For the first time this season, the UNT women’s golf team will travel to the desert for the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown that will be held from Oct. 21-23.

This season, the Mean Green has played two tournaments and as a team have recorded a 7th and a 13th overall finish.

The biggest opponent for the Mean Green will be the Colorado State Rams, a team that is almost ranked in the top-25 in the nation.

There will be 18 teams taking part in this event with UNT being the lone representative of the Sun Belt Conference.

The Stallion Mountain Golf Club is a desert golf course, meaning lots of sand around every hole, putting an emphasis on hitting green and fairways in regulation. UNT’s previous tournament was played on a desert course in Las Cruces, N.M., giving the Mean Green a bit of an advantage heading into Vegas.

One issue that could arise for the Mean Green is the weather in Vegas. The heavy and dry desert air plays differently than the thinner, humid air of North Texas, a situation that is tough to recreate in practice.

The ball will not travel as far in the desert air, making the club selection in approach shots more important than ever.

So far, the best finish for an individual player for the Mean Green is junior Taylor Kilponen’s seventh place finish in the team’s last tournament.

For the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, UNT will enter five of the team’s six members. Freshmen Keegan Moore and Georgina Mundy, sophomore McKenzie Ralston and juniors Chaslyn Chrismer and Kilponen will represent the Mean Green with junior Brooke Bailey sitting out this weekend.

The Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown will start Oct. 21 and end with the third and final round on Oct. 23.

Head coach Jeff Mitchell and the players were not available for comment.