March 9, 2010

LAS VEGAS - Many of the nation's top collegiate golf programs, including UNLV, which is ranked 14th in the country by Golfweek, will showcase their talent this weekend at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, which will take place Friday-Sunday, March 12-14, at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas.

The public is welcome to attend the tournament. Admission is free.

This prestigious event annually lures the country's best to compete in the desert and perennially ranks at or near the top of the collegiate golf schedule in terms of strength of field.

The 2010 version of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters will feature 11 of the top-20 teams in the country, according to Golfstat, and all 15 teams are ranked in the top 50.

Participating teams include (Golfstat ranking in parenthesis) Arizona (49), Arizona State (12), Florida (5), Georgia (15), Georgia Tech (14), New Mexico (46), Oklahoma State (1), TCU (29), Tennessee (27), Texas (4), Texas A&M (7), Texas Tech (16), UCLA (11), UNLV (18) and USC (17).

The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. each morning.

Last year's tournament was won by host UNLV for the second straight year. The Rebels captured the team title with a score of 9-under 855. It marked the eighth time that UNLV has won the event in the last 15 years. Medalist honors were captured by Georgia Tech's Cameron Tringale with a total of 11-under 205.

UNLV's lineup will consist of Derek Ernst, Colby Smith, Brett Kanda, Eddie Olson and Jeremiah Wooding, while Rebel teammate Kevin Penner will be playing as an individual.

Live scoring of the tournament will be available on the internet courtesy of Golfstat through a link at UNLVRebels.com.