June 25, 2003

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's golf team has signed New Zealand standout golfer Sam Hunt to a national letter of intent, head coach Dwaine Knight announced Wednesday.

Hunt, 18, of Rotorua, New Zealand, joins Matt Edwards of Henderson and Andy Leadbetter of Orlando, Fla., in completing the Rebels' 2003 recruiting class.

"This was already a really solid recruiting class, and with Sam it gets only better," Knight said. "We should be a very competitive team, not just in tournaments on the road, but also at home in our qualifying."

Hunt has demonstrated success on the course both locally and nationally. The individual winner at the New Zealand Amateur last year, Hunt was both the New Zealand stroke play champ and under-19 champ in 2001. He finished fifth at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan earlier this year.

"I'm really pleased," Knight said of Hunt's signing. "Sam has a lot of experience, both in New Zealand and in some world competitions, and that gives him the ability to step into our lineup immediately."

The Rebels return seven letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that finished 13th nationally.