Tulsa freshman Kristina Merkle (Moanalua '09) was named the Conference USA female golfer of the week for the third time in her young career Tuesday.

Merkle tied for 10th place with a 4-over 220 total at the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational on March 10. She shot rounds of 77, 70 and 73 to help the Golden Hurricane finish in 10th place in the 18-team field.

Merkle has finished in the top 10 in all six events she's played in this season.

She won the Johnnie James Invitational in October and placed in a tie for fifth in her return to Hawaii at the Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational in Laie in November.

The UNLV tournament was her second since the team resumed play in the spring season. Merkle finished third in the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islander Classic on March 2.

Tulsa has two more tournaments before the C-USA Championships in Hattiesburg, Miss., April 18-20. The NCAA Championships are May 18-21 in Wilmington, N.C.