UNLV's 2006 NCAA East Regional Men's Golf Notes in PDF
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STORYLINE: The No. 7 UNLV men's golf team will compete at the 2006 NCAA East Regional, May 18-20, at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla. This year's regional will mark UNLV's 18th consecutive invitation to an NCAA Regional, but the first time it will play in a regional other than the West. UNLV was given the third seed at this year's East Regional, which is one of three regional tournaments encompassing the current nine regions. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each regional site. The other sites are at the Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon, Ohio (Central) and at Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. (West). The low 10 teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals. The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships will be held May 31-June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. Sunriver has the hosted the Mountain West Conference Championship each of the last six years. The NCAA Regionals as well as the championship will have live scoring on the internet, available on UNLVRebels.com, courtesy of Golfstat.
ABOUT UNLV: The Rebels are currently ranked seventh nationally, according to the latest edition of the Golfstat/NCAA Division I Team Rankings. They are eighth in the latest Golf Coaches Association of America poll and ninth by Golfweek. UNLV has played in 10 tournaments this season and has finished in the top five in seven events, winning two team titles (William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. in September and Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship in Las Vegas in March). Two UNLV players have won individual titles this season (senior Andres Gonzales at the Tucker and sophomore Matt Kinsinger at the SHC) and a third tied for first and lost in a playoff (freshman Seung-Su Han at the University of Hawaii Fall Intercollegiate in November).
THE LINEUP: The Rebels' five-man lineup for the NCAA East Regional will be the same lineup that played at the MWC Championship, where UNLV finished third. Participants include senior Andres Gonzales, sophomores C.J. Gatto, Matt Kinsinger and Jarred Texter and freshman Seung-Su Han.
HEAD COACH Dwaine Knight: UNLV men's golf head coach Dwaine Knight is in his 19th year at the helm of the Rebel program. During his tenure, UNLV has been a perennial power with six league championships and 15 NCAA finals appearances. His 1998 squad won the national championship. He has also tutored two individual national champions (Warren Schutte, 1991; Ryan Moore, 2004). Knight was the only mentor to twice claim GCAA National Coach of the Year honors in the 1990s (1991 and 1998) and he has produced an amazing 34 All-Americans, while guiding eight different players to the PGA Tour from UNLV.
THE FIELD: Three of the 27 teams in the NCAA East Regional rank among the top 10 in the nation in the latest edition of the Golfstat/NCAA Division I Team Rankings (Head-to-Head Standings) and 10 of the 27 teams are ranked in the top 25. The following is the field along with each team's Golfstat ranking in parenthesis: Georgia (1), UCLA (6), UNLV (7), Georgia State (12), North Carolina (13), USC (18), Texas Tech (19), Wake Forest (21), Charlotte (23), Coastal Carolina (25), Auburn (28), Tennessee (32), South Carolina (39), Florida State (44), Indiana (48), Notre Dame (51), Georgia Southern (58), Maryland (73), Jacksonville (82), Western Illinois (87), Wichita State (98), Rhode Island (142), George Washington (147), Richmond (148), Liberty (156), Army (198) and Binghamton (204). The six individuals in the field are: Luke List (Vanderbilt), Daniel Willett (Jacksonville State), Matt Cook (Western Carolina), Sonny Nimkum (Central Florida), Shawn Hall (Charleston Southern) and Scott Stallings (Tennessee Tech).
UNLV VS. THE FIELD: Head-to-head, the Rebels own a 9-10 record against the NCAA East Regional field this year. That record was assembled against eight of the 26 opponents bound for Orlando, while UNLV has not faced 18 of the schools in the field. This season, UNLV is 1-1 vs. Auburn, 0-1 vs. Charlotte, 1-2 vs. Georgia, 1-1 vs. South Carolina, 2-0 vs. Texas Tech, 1-2 vs. UCLA, 1-2 vs. USC and 2-1 vs. Wake Forest.
UNLV AT THE NCAA REGIONAL: The Rebels earned their 18th consecutive invitation to an NCAA Regional this year, but this year is the first time UNLV has played in any regional other than the West. Only twice in that span has UNLV failed to advance to the national finals (2001 and 2004). UNLV has finished in the top five all 15 other times. The Rebels have four wins as a team (1990, 1994, 1997 and 2005) at the West Regional and boast three individual medalists (Hub Goyen, 1990; Warren Schutte, 1991; Ed Fryatt, 1994). Last year UNLV won the West Regional as a team and was led by Ryan Moore's tie for sixth place.
UNLV'S REGIONAL EXPERIENCE: Two players scheduled to play for the Rebels at this year's regional have previous NCAA Regional experience. Senior Andres Gonzales finished tied for 15th at 3-over 213 at last year's NCAA West Regional, while sophomore Jarred Texter tied for 39th at 7-over 217 last year. Gonzales also played at the 2004 West Regional and finished tied for 81st.
UNLV AT THE MWC CHAMPIONSHIP: In April, the Rebels finished third at the Mountain West Conference Championship in Sunriver, Ore. UNLV shot a 10-over-par 874, finishing nine shots behind team champion New Mexico. UNLV had two players in the top 10 as sophomores Matt Kinsinger and Jarred Texter each tied for sixth at 2-over 218. Senior Andres Gonzales finished tied for 12th at 3-over 219. The all-conference awards were handed out following the tournament and Gonzales, Texter and freshman Seung-Su Han were on all the all-conference team. Han was named MWC Freshman of the Year.
REBELS LOOK TO GET BACK TO NCAA FINALS: With a top 10 finish at the NCAA East Regional, UNLV would get a return trip to the NCAA finals. UNLV tied for eighth at last year's NCAA Championship. UNLV has competed in 15 NCAA finals and won it all in 1998. The Rebels finished second as a team in 1996, which was their top finish before 1998.
MEDIA: Results of the NCAA East Regional will be distributed to all regular UNLV media via email following each day's competition. The tournament will also feature live scoring, available on UNLVRebels.com, courtesy of Golfstat.
HOGAN SEMIFINALIST: Senior Andres Gonzales was one of 10 semifinalists for the 2006 Ben Hogan Award. The most prestigious award in men's college golf, the Hogan is presented annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months. Former UNLV golfer Ryan Moore was last year's Hogan Award winner, which marked the first time a UNLV golfer was named the national player of the year.
APRIL SHOWERED: Senior Andres Gonzales was selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's Golfer of the Month for April. The Olympia, Wash., native paced then-No. 6 UNLV in both tournaments it competed in during the month of April. Gonzales tied for eighth with a 4-under 209 (71-68-70) at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., April 8-9 as the team finished second, one shot out of first place. He followed that performance with a tie for fifth at the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah, April 14-15 with a 10-under 206 (68-70-68). The team finished fourth in that event. Gonzales' 10-under par score at the Cougar Classic tied him for UNLV's low individual tournament total to par for the season. For the month, Gonzales shot in the 60s in three of his six rounds (all three rounds were 68) and was at par or better in all six of his rounds (five at under par). He finished the month with a 69.17 scoring average.
HAN ALSO HONORED: Freshman Seung-Su Han and San Diego State senior Andrew Scott were named Co-Mountain West Conference Golfers of the Month for November. Han and Scott both finished in a four-way tie for first place with a 2-under 214 at the University of Hawaii Fall Intercollegiate in Kaneohe, Hawaii, Nov. 7-9. However, both players lost in a four-hole playoff to New Mexico State's Robert Goff, who claimed medalist honors. Han, a native of Incheon, South Korea, recorded the first top-10 finish of his career as he finished with rounds of 68, 75 and 71 for his 214 total. His first-round 68 was his then-season-low round.
