Sept. 13, 2005

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's golf team has been ranked eighth in the nation in the 2005-06 Golfweek preseason rankings, the magazine has announced.

The team, under head coach Dwaine Knight, who is in his 19th year at UNLV, is led by 2005 honorable mention All-America Ryan Keeney and Andres Gonzales, who both return for their senior seasons.

The team returns nine players from last year's squad that won three tournaments including the NCAA West Regional and finished tied for eighth at the 2005 NCAA Championship. Four newcomers, who made up the fourth-best recruiting class in the country, join the Rebels this fall.

Defending national champion Georgia tops the rankings and is followed by Oklahoma State, Florida, Duke, Wake Forest, Arizona State, USC, UNLV, Washington and BYU.

UNLV opens the 2005-06 season this Friday, Sept. 16 at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M.

GOLFWEEK MEN'S PRESEASON TOP 251. Georgia2. Oklahoma State3. Florida4. Duke5. Wake Forest6. Arizona State7. USC8. UNLV9. Washington10. BYU11. UCLA12. Georgia Tech13. Auburn14. South Carolina15. Texas16. Clemson17. Arizona18. Texas A&M19. Alabama20. New Mexico21. SMU22. Stanford23. Coastal Carolina24. Georgia State25. Augusta State