April 28, 1998

LIVERMORE, Calif. - The top-ranked UNLV men's golf team shot an even-par second-round 288 to increase its lead at the Western Athletic Conference Championship at Poppy Ridge Golf Course (Par 72, 7,128 yards) Tuesday.

After 36 holes of play, UNLV (277-288--565, 11-under par) is in first place, five shots ahead of second-place TCU (278-292--570). New Mexico (285-287--572) and Brigham Young (284-288--572) are both tied for third, while Colorado State (288-285--573) is in fifth.

"We are happy with the position we are in because of the experience we have gathered being in the same position during the year," UNLV Head Coach Dwaine Knight said. "This is the eleventh time going into the final round that we have had a chance to win. We feel that to be in contention at the NCAA Tournament on our tough days, we need to be around 292 and since we shot a 288 today we are pleased. We did struggle a little bit, but our consistency with the five players was good."

SMU's Hank Kuehne (70-65--135, nine-under par) and Fresno State's Ryan King (70-65--135) are tied for the individual lead. The two golfers set WAC Championship marks for the lowest round under par with seven-under 65's and lowest 36-hole totals at 135. Bill Lunde (68-71--139) leads the Rebels and is in fifth place.

"I got off to a good start today with birdies on the third and fifth holes," Lunde said. "I had seven-straight pars on the back nine, which got me into a bit of a rut that I couldn't break out of. It was tough to get birdies going, but I did make a lot of greens. I felt solid and played well, but it could have been better."

Only three teams broke par Tuesday, after six teams broke it in Monday's opening round and 14 players shot under par, while 27 did Monday.

Other Rebels competing were Jeremy Anderson (68-74--142/tied for 10th), Scott Lander (71-71--142/tied for 10th), Chris Berry (70-73-143/tied for 17th) and Charley Hoffman (72-73--145/tied for 24th.

The tournament concludes Wednesday with 18 holes.

1998 WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPTEAM RESULTS1.  UNLV            277-288-565 -112.  TCU         278-292-570 -63.  New Mexico  285-287-572 -4        Brigham Young   284-288-572 -45.  Colorado State  288-285-573 -36.  SMU         293-283-576 E7.  Fresno State    286-291-577 +18.  Hawai'i         289-295-584 +89.  Utah            292-294-586 +10    UTEP            283-303-586 +1011. San Diego State 292-295-587 +1112. Rice            299-290-589 +1313. Air Force   291-300-591 +1514. Tulsa           296-298-594 +1815. Wyoming         300-297-597 +2116. San Jose State  298-306-604 +28
TOP INDIVIDUALS1.  Hank Kuehne, SMU    70-65-135   -9    Ryan King, Fresno State 70-65-135   -93.  J.J. Henry, TCU         67-70-137   -74.  Brock Padilla, Utah 69-69-138   -65.   Bill Lunde, UNLV    68-71-139   -5
OTHER REBEL PLAYERST10.    Jeremy Anderson 68-74-139   -2T10.    Scott Lander    71-71-142   -2T17.    Chris Berry 70-73-143   -1T24.    Charley Hoffman 72-73-145   +1