May 11, 1998
UP NEXT: UNLV, the nation's unanimous No. 1 team, travels to Tempe, Ariz., for the 18-team NCAA West Regional Championship at the par-72, 7,037-yard ASU Karsten Golf Course, Thursday, May 14 through Saturday, May 16.
THE FORMAT: The 18 teams and three individuals from District 7 and 8 competing in the 54-hole tournament will play 18 holes per day over a three-day span. Tee times begin each day at 8:00 a.m. with groups going off hole nos. 1 & 10. Each team will have five players competing and the winner will be determined by the low four-man scores from each 18-hole round. The top nine teams as well as the top two individuals will advance to the NCAA Championship, May 27-30 in Albuquerque, N.M., at UNM's Championship Golf Course.
RANKED FIELD: Among the 18 teams participating, 11 are ranked in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings as of May 6. The teams include No. 1 UNLV, No. 4 Arizona, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 17 Colorado State, No. 20 UCLA, No. 22 New Mexico, No. 23 Brigham Young, No. 25 Southern California, No. 29 Texas-El Paso, No. 35 Washington and No. 41 California. The teams that are not ranked are Fresno State, Nevada, Reno, New Mexico State, Oregon, Pacific, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.
UNLV'S LINEUP: Competitors for the Rebels will be senior Bill Lunde, junior Chris Berry, junior Charley Hoffman, sophomore Jeremy Anderson and freshman Scott Lander.
STACKING UP: UNLV is an impressive 48-8 this season vs. the other 17 teams making up the 1998 NCAA West Regional Championship. UNLV has a winning record against every team it has faced and is undefeated against 10 of the teams. The only two squads the Rebels have not faced are California and Washington.
UNLV vs. THE FIELD BY DIST. SEEDING (48-8):-Dist. 7- -Dist. 8-1. New Mexico 8-2 1. UNLV 7. Pacific 2-02. Brigham Young 4-0 2. Arizona 6-2 8. Oregon 2-03. Colorado State 2-1 3. Arizona State 6-2 9. New Mexico St. 1-04. Texas-El Paso 2-1 4. UCLA 1-0 10. California 0-05. Nevada, Reno 1-0 5. Washington 0-0 11. UC Irvine 1-06. Fresno State 4-0 6. USC 7-0 12. UCSB 1-0
LAST YEAR'S NCAA WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: UNLV captured the team title as it finished first out of 18 teams in last year's championship, which was held at Carlton Oaks Country Club (par 72, 6,534 yards) in Santee, Calif. UNLV (289-280-278-847), which won its third West Regional title in the nineties, finished three shots ahead of second-place finisher Arizona State (282-285-283-850). Southern California (278-292-287-857) finished third, Arizona (285-288-290-863) was fourth and New Mexico (286-289-291-866) finished fifth. Individually, UNLV had two players place in the top-10. Ted Oh (71-69-68-208) tied for second and Bill Lunde (73-71-67-211) tied for sixth. Arron Oberholser (71-68-68-207) of San Jose State captured the individual title. Other Rebels were Gilberto Morales (75-69-74-215), who tied for 16th, Jeremy Anderson (73-72-72-217), who tied for 22nd and Mike Ruiz (72-71-78-221), who tied for 42nd.
REBEL RANKINGS: UNLV is ranked No. 1 in all three polls for the second consecutive season. Last year, the Rebels were the unanimous No. 1 for the majority of the season, a feat never before accomplished by a UNLV golf team.
MasterCard (May 6) Golfweek (April 5) GCAA (April 22)1. UNLV* 1. UNLV* 1. UNLV*2. Clemson 2. Georgia Tech 2. TCU3. Georgia Tech 3. TCU 3. Clemson4. Arizona* 4. Clemson 4. Oklahoma State5. Georgia 5. Houston 5. Arizona*6. TCU Arizona* 6. Georgia Tech7. Oklahoma State 7. Oklahoma State 7. Georgia8. Houston 8. Georgia 8. Houston9. South Carolina 9. North Carolina 9. Florida10. North Carolina 10. Arizona State* 10. Arizona State*11. Florida 11. Arkansas 11. Augusta State12. Arkansas Florida 12. North Carolina13. Arizona State* 13. Augusta State 13. New Mexico*14. Augusta State 14. E. Tenn. St. 14. Arkansas15. Auburn 15. South Carolina 15. Brigham Young*16. N. Carolina St. 16. Auburn 16. South Carolina17. Colorado State* Florida State 17. Minnesota18. E. Tenn. St. 18. N. Carolina St. 18. Florida State19. Florida State 19. New Mexico* 19. East Tennessee St.20. UCLA* 20. Brigham Young* 20. Oklahoma21. Virginia 21. Colorado State* 21. North Carolina State22. New Mexico* 22. USC* 22. Colorado State*23. Brigham Young* 23. Louisiana State 23. Southern California*24. Louisiana State 24. UTEP* 24. Tulsa25. USC* 25. Minnesota 25. Northwestern
*NCAA West Regional team
INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS: UNLV is the only team in the nation that has three players ranked in the MasterCard individual top 20. They are Jeremy Anderson (3rd), Bill Lunde (8th) and Charley Hoffman (19th).
RECORD BREAKERS: UNLV's win at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 18-20 was the best Rebel showing ever. UNLV (283-279-267-829, 35-under-par) set six records on its way to its fifth win of the season. The records follow:
It was the first time that UNLV has recorded three-straight tournament wins. The Rebels' previous best was two in a row, which they accomplished twice (1992-93 and 1993-94). It was the first time that UNLV won more than four events in a season. The Rebels won four tournaments in 1993-94, 1995-96 and 1996-97. UNLV's third-round total of 267 set the record for the Rebels' lowest-ever round. The old mark was 271 at the 1992 NCAA West Regional at Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. UNLV's 21-under-par third round set the record for the Rebel's lowest under-par round ever. The old mark was 17-under-par at the 1992 NCAA West Regional. The Rebels' tournament total of 829 set the record for UNLV's lowest-ever tournament total. The old mark was 832 at the 1990 NCAA West Regional at the University Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M. The Rebels' 35-under-par tournament set the record for UNLV's lowest-ever under-par total. The old mark was 32-under-par at the 1990 NCAA West Regional.
HONORED REBEL: Sophomore Jeremy Anderson has been this season's most honored Rebel. Most recently Anderson was named to the All-WAC Team. He was named WAC Golfer of the Week on Apr. 15 and Feb. 18. The GolfWorld Invitational and BELLSOUTH Yellow Pages Intercollegiate champion, was also named both the WAC Golf Athlete of the Month and the College Golf Foundation's Rolex National College Golfer of the Month for November.
REBELS REPRESENTING THE NATION: Jeremy Anderson and Bill Lunde were recently selected to represent the United States at two different events. Anderson will take part in the Palmer Cup in St. Andrews, Scotland, while Lunde will play in the USA vs. Japan matches in Japan.
KNIGHT WINS NO. 30: With UNLV's latest team championship at the BELLSOUTH Yellow Pages Intercollegiate in Cary, N.C., Coach Knight won his 30th tournament with the Rebels.
ANDERSON WINS TWICE: With his latest individual title at the BELLSOUTH Intercollegiate, Jeremy Anderson became the first Rebel to win more than one tournament in a season since Chris Riley (3) and Edward Fryatt (2) accomplished the feat in 1993-94.
ALL-WAC: UNLV was the only school in the conference with more than one player selected to the 1997-98 All-WAC Team as Bill Lunde and Jeremy Anderson were both honored following the WAC Championship.
UNLV ALL-TIME AT THE WEST REGIONAL:Year Site UNLV Champion1997 Santee, Calif. 1st UNLV1996 Stanford, Calif. 2nd Stanford1995 Albuquerque, N.M. 5th Arizona State1994 Tucson, Ariz. 1st UNLV1993 Provo, Utah 4th Arizona1992 Tucson, Ariz. 3rd Arizona1991 Albuquerque, N.M. 3rd Arizona1990 Las Cruces, N.M. 1st UNLV1989 El Paso, Texas 5th Arizona
TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS: SCHEDULE Wednesday, May 13 Practice Round, Karsten Golf Course, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, May 14 First Round, 8 a.m. tee times on nos. 1 & 10 Friday, May 15 Second Round, 8 a.m. tee times on nos. 1 & 10 Saturday, May 16 Final Round, 8 a.m. tee times on nos. 1 & 10 HOST SCHOOL Arizona State COURSE ASU Karsten Golf Course, 1125 East Rio Salado Drive, Tempe, Ariz., (602) 965-4653 or (602) 784-4834, Par 72 and 7,037 yards. TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR Mike Chismar, ASU Assistant Athetic Director MEDIA RELATIONS Doug Tammaro, Arizona State Julie Reuvers, Arizona State ADMISSION, PARKING AND CREDENTIALS There will be no admission and parking fees at the tournament, so credentials will not be issued.
KNIGHT WINS WAC COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD: After leading his team to a school-record six wins this season, Head Coach Dwaine Knight was honored following the WAC Championship as the 1997-98 WAC Golf Coach of the Year. It marked the first time he has received a conference Coach of the Year award since he was named Co-Big West Coach of the Year in 1989.
CONSISTENTLY GOOD: Jeremy Anderson has finished in the top-10 in seven out of 12 tournaments this season...Bill Lunde has finished in the top-10 six times, while Charley Hoffman has five times. UNLV has recorded top-4 finishes in 11 of 13 tournaments ...The Rebels have recorded 12 top-10 finishes in 13 tournaments (the Morris Williams Intercoll. only had nine teams).
RECORD-SETTING YEAR: UNLV has won a school-record six times this season. The previous best was four victories which the Rebels accomplished in 1993-94, 1995-96 and 1996-97.
SHOOTING FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Chris Berry and Bill Lunde's final-round scores of 65 at the John A. Burns tie them for the fourth-lowest round in Rebel history...Jeremy Anderson also shot a 65 in his win at the GolfWorld Invitational...Three ex-Rebels have shot rounds of 64...They were Chris Riley (1993-94), Warren Schutte (1992-93) and Edward Fryatt (1992-93)...Berry's Burns tournament total of 203 ties him with Anderson, who shot 203 at the GolfWorld Invitational earlier in the year, for the second-lowest 54-hole total in Rebel history...Hub Goyen shot the lowest 54-hole total in 1990 with 201 at the NCAA West Regional.
UNLV NOTES: UNLV makes its 10th-straight appearance in the NCAA West Regional after previously never qualifying for the event...The Rebels have never finished lower than fifth at the West Regional and won the 1997, 1994 and 1990 events...Only four teams -- Arizona (1993, 1992, 1991, 1989), UNLV (1997, 1994, 1990), Arizona State (1995) and Stanford (1996) -- have ever won the West Regional...UNLV has come in first (6) or second place (2) in eight of its 13 tournaments this season and an amazing 20 of its last 31 dating back to the 1995-96 season...Senior Bill Lunde, junior Chris Berry and sophomore Jeremy Anderson are all making their second appearance at the NCAA West Regional, while junior Charley Hoffman and freshman Scott Lander will be making their debut...With two post-season tournaments remaining, UNLV has won six team titles this season which already surpasses the school record by two...Rebel Golf boasts one of the school's three male individual national champions as Warren Schutte won the big NCAA prize at Pebble Beach in 1991...The other two are from tennis in 1997.
COACH KNIGHT SAYS: "This is the 10th-straight time we have advanced to the regional and we have a history of getting through it in real solid fashion. The worst we have ever finished at the event is fifth, so I think the key for us is to compete for the championship. The teams that try to slide by just trying to qualify for the nationals sometimes can get into a little trouble. Our goal going in is to win it. We have won three times in the nineties and after we won it last year, it gave us a lot of momentum going into nationals. It will be played on a very good course. We will need to learn it quickly since we haven't seen it this year. We have played on it in the past so we know some of the holes and our strategy is set up a little bit, but we will need to finalize it once we get a good look at the course."
RESULTS: Daily results may be found on the official website of UNLV Athletics at www.unlvrebels.com.
WAC REVIEW: UNLV (277-288-287--852) finished second at the 1998 Western Athletic Conference Championship, April 27-29, at Poppy Ridge Golf Course (par 72, 7,121 yards) in Livermore, Calif. TCU (278-292-277--847), which won its second consecutive conference championship, finished five shots ahead of the Rebels. UNLV had a five-shot lead heading into the final round, but TCU's 11-under-par 277 was enough to capture the title. TCU's J.J. Henry (67-70-68--205) won the individual crown, while UNLV's Bill Lunde (68-74-68--207) and SMU's Hank Kuehne (70-65-72--207) tied for second. Other Rebels competing were Chris Berry (70-73-71--214/tied for seventh), Scott Lander (71-71-73--215/tied for 12th), Jeremy Anderson (68-74-76--218/tied for 20th) and Charley Hoffman (72-73-75--220/tied for 27th).
