May 23, 2003
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STORYLINE: The No. 8 UNLV men's golf team makes its 14th appearance at the NCAA Championship this week when it heads to Stillwater, Okla., to compete for its second national title. Hosted by Oklahoma State, the tournament will be played at Karsten Creek Golf Course (Par 72--7,301 Yards), from Tuesday, May 27 to Friday, May 30. The 72-hole event includes 18 holes daily, with two practice rounds scheduled for Sunday, May 25 and Monday, May 26. The Rebels won the NCAA championship in 1998.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV comes into the finals as the No. 3 seed out of the West and ranked eighth nationally in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. The Rebels have compiled an impressive 135-32-3 head-to-head record this season and are 53-23-2 against teams in the championship field. They are led by sophomore All-American Ryan Moore, currently ranked 17th by Golfweek. UNLV finished worse than fourth in just two of its 11 tournaments this year.
THE FIELD: An always talented field of 30 teams and six individuals will vie for this year's national crown. Of the 30, only Wichita State (54th) does rank in the top 50 of the latest Golfweek rankings. Nineteen of the top 20 school are included in the field, hosted by Oklahoma State University: Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Augusta State, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, San Diego State, SMU, South Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington and Wichita State. Earning individual invitations were Travis Bertoni (Cal Poly), William Ted Brown (VCU), Brett Callas (Houston), Stephen Carroll (Colorado), Ryan Gildersleeve (South Alabama) and Isaac Weintraub (San Jose State).
THE LINEUP: UNLV's five-man lineup for the NCAA Championship will be the same it has used in the last two tourneys: senior Brien Davis, sophomores J.C. Deacon, Ryan Moore and Travis Whisman, and freshman Ryan Keeney.
HEAD COACH Dwaine Knight: UNLV men's golf head coach Dwaine Knight is in his 16th year at the helm of the Rebel program. During his tenure, UNLV has been a perennial power with six league championships, 13 NCAA finals appearances and the 1998 national title. Last year's MWC Coach of the Year was the only mentor to twice claim GCAA National Coach of the Year honors in the 1990s (1991 and 1998). He has produced an amazing 30 All-Americans and guided five different players to the PGA Tour.
