April 27, 2004
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STORYLINE: The No. 14 UNLV men's golf team heads to Sunriver, Ore., this week to compete in its fifth Mountain West Conference Championship. Hosted by the league at the exclusive Crosswater Course at Sunriver Resort (Par 72, 7,568 Yards), the MWC Championship will be played over three days from April 29 through May 1, with a single 18-hole round slated for each day. The Rebels enter the championship as the highest ranked team in the MWC and seek their third crown in the league's five-year history. UNLV has fared well against one of the toughest schedules in the nation and should easily gain an at-large berth to the postseason from the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee if it does not secure the league's automatic entry. The tournament will feature live scoring, available on unlvrebels.com, courtsey of Golfstat.
THE FIELD: The Mountian West Conference hosts: No. 14 UNLV, No. 19 New Mexico, No. 22 BYU, No. 26 Colorado State, No. 38 San Diego State, No. 88 Utah, No. 158 Wyoming and No. 169 Air Force.
ABOUT UNLV: The Rebels are currently ranked 14th nationally, according to the latest edition of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. They opened the spring with a runner-up finish at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Leading the squad are juniors Ryan Moore, who has earned All-America honors twice, and Travis Whisman, an All-West Region selection last year. Moore is presently ranked second nationally.
THE LINEUP: The Rebels' five-man lineup for the Thunderbird Invitational will be: Andres Gonzales, Sam Hunt, Ryan Keeney, Ryan Moore and Travis Whisman.
UNLV AT THE MWC CHAMPIONSHIP: UNLV has won two of the four MWC Men's Golf Championships. The Rebels captured the inaugural league crown in 2000, winning in Palm Desert, Calif., by 23 strokes over New Mexico. Michael Kirk won the individual title as all five Rebels finished in the top eight. UNLV slipped to fifth place in 2001, but rebounded to win the crown in 2002. Ryan Moore has two league tournaments under his belt, finishing fifth in '02 and eighth in '03. Travis Whisman also has played in two MWC Tourneys, tying for 11th overall in 2001 before a seventh-place showing last year.
UNLV VS. THE MWC: Head to head, the Rebels own a 12-4 record against the MWC this year. They have had the most success against San Diego State, posting a 3-0 advantage over the Aztecs, and have struggled the most with New Mexico, splitting their six head-to-head meeting down the middle. BYU is the only other school with a victory over UNLV despite two losses, and the Rebels have not yet seen Wyoming.
HEAD COACH Dwaine Knight: UNLV men's golf head coach Dwaine Knight is in his 17th year at the helm of the Rebel program. During his tenure, UNLV has been a perennial power with six league championships, 14 NCAA finals appearances and the 1998 national title. The 2002 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 31 All-Americans and guided six different players to the PGA Tour at UNLV.
MORE ON MOORE: Junior star Ryan Moore could possibly be the best player in college golf this year, and certainly one of the most heralded. The two-time All-American has a chance to join former Rebel and current PGA veteran Chris Riley as UNLV's only four-time All-Americans. The Puyallup, Wash., native is a semifinalist for the Hogan Award, presented annually to the top collegiate player in men's golf and an award for which he was a finalist last year. At 20, Moore has already played in two PGA major championships -- the U.S. Open and The Masters. He was also selected to the U.S. Walker Cup team last year and has twice been chosen to the U.S. Palmer Cup squad. He collected his second collegiate victory at the National Invitation Tournament this year and has seven top-five finishes in 10 events this year. The two-time UNLV Olympic Sportsman of the Year is currently ranked second nationally. He was named the MWC Golfer of the Month for both March and April and leads the league with a 69.69 stroke average.
