Nov. 7, 2003

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Ryan Moore and Travis Whisman posted a pair of wins impressive enough to break a tie and power the UNLV men's golf team to a match victory over sixth-seeded Arizona State at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at Barefoot Resort on Friday.

The Rebels, seeded 11th, played to an even draw with the Sun Devils. Moore and Whisman won, but JC Deacon and Ryan Keeney were both defeated and Andres Gonzales halved his match, leaving both teams at an even 2-2-1. However, the Rebels' head-to-head wins were stronger, giving the Rebels the advantage in the tie-breaker.

UNLV advances to the second round of championship play where it faces defending national champion Clemson. The Tigers, ranked second nationally, are playing as the No. 3 seed and knocked off 14th-seeded Auburn, 4-0-1.

In his morning match, Whisman won the first four holes and never looked back, rolling to a 2 and 1 win over Chez Reavie. Moore held the lead over the final 12 holes and defeated Ben Flam 4 and 2.

The Devils escaped with one match. Sophomore Ryan Keeney had ASU's Alejandro Canizares, the defending national champion, against the ropes. Keeney led by a stroke with two holes to play, but the Sun Devils' ace took both holes to steal a 1 up victory.

Jesse Mueller was ASU's other winner, leading from start to finish in a 3 and 2 win over JC Deacon.

With four matches completed, the showdown between UNLV's Andres Gonzales and ASU's Pat Moore would decide the team match. Gonzales led by one hole with two to play, but Moore battled the count to even, and the match was halved. UNLV won the team match by virtue of its stronger head-to-head wins.

Second-round play began immediately following the first round. Should the Rebels survive Clemson, they would face either seventh-seeded Oklahoma State of 15th-seeded North Carolina State, who knocked off UCLA in the first round.