March 21, 2000

AUSTIN, Texas - The 10th-ranked UNLV men's golf team shot a field-best six-under-par 282 and tied for the lead before losing a playoff to eighth-ranked BYU at the Cleveland Golf/Morris Williams Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,906-yard Austin Country Club Tuesday.

After standing in sixth place after two rounds, the Rebels (299-300-282-881) made up an incredible 13 shots on the Cougars (304-282-295-881) as both schools finished five shots ahead of third-place Fresno State (294-302-290-886). BYU, however, won the first playoff hole to earn the team title, marking the second time this season that the Rebels have lost a championship in overtime. UNLV lost to Clemson in a two-hole playoff at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate on Oct. 19.

That the Rebels were so close victory was due to the scorching final round turned in by Michael Kirk. The senior fired a five-under 67, which was the low round of the tournament, to finish in third place overall (73-76-67-216). Joel Hendry of New Mexico (69-72-70-211) won the individual honors, just one stroke ahead of BYU's Andy Miller.

Also for UNLV, Jeremy Anderson bounced back to shoot a two-under final round (76-76-70-224), good enough for 16th place. Tyler Mays (75-74-75-224) tied for 18th, Scott Lander (75-77-73-225) tied for 25th and Calvin Kupeyan (80-74-72-226) shot par on the final 18 to tie for 31st.

Next up for UNLV, which now has four top-five finishes this season, is the U.S. Collegiate Championships, a made-for-TV event in Los Cabos, Mexico, on April 7-9.

TEAM STANDINGS                  INDIVIDUAL LEADERS1.  BYU***      304-282-295-881 1.  Joel Hendry, UNM   69-72-70--211    UNLV        299-300-282-881 2.  Andy Miller, BYU   72-70-70--2123.  Fresno State    294-302-290-886 3.  Michael Kirk, UNLV 73-76-67--2164.  Oklahoma State  290-304-295-889 4.  Ty Cox, Texas A&M  71-73-73--2175.  Houston     302-296-293-891 5.  Ryan King, FS      72-71-75--218    New Mexico  298-298-295-8917.  Arizona     307-302-288-8978.  Pepperdine  304-303-292-8999.  Texas A&M   298-303-299-900     OTHER UNLV PARTICIPANTS10. Texas       307-303-295-905 16. Jeremy Anderson  76-76-70--22211. Oklahoma    304-302-304-910 T18.    Tyler Mays   75-74-75--22412. TCU     314-303-296-913 T25.    Scott Lander     75-77-73--22513. South Carolina  310-303-311-924 T31.    Calvin Kupeyan   80-74-72--22614. USC     312-315-302-92915. SMU     313-304-316-933          ***Won on first playoff hole