June 30, 2010

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's golf team had three student-athletes earn Spring 2010 Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors and also had a MWC Scholar-Athlete, the conference announced this week.

Senior Brett Kanda (3.25 cumulative grade point average in communication studies), freshman Kevin Penner (3.04 in business administration) and sophomore Colby Smith (3.61 in finance) were the three that earned Academic All-MWC recognition.

Kanda has been selected for a fourth straight time, while Smith was honored for the second straight year.

To be eligible for selection to the Academic All-MWC team, student-athletes must have completed at least one academic term at the school while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor on their team.

Kanda played in 37 rounds during the 2009-10 season and recorded a scoring average of 73.46. He had two top-10 finishes 10 rounds under par. Penner competed in 34 rounds with a scoring average of 73.74 and finished in the top five in two events, also with 10 rounds under par. Smith was second on the team in scoring average with 72.49 and competed in 37 rounds. He had two top-10 finishes and also had 10 rounds under par.

Smith was also named a MWC Scholar-Athlete for the second straight year.

The MWC Scholar-Athlete Award is the highest academic honor bestowed by the conference. To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must have completed at least two academic terms at the member institution, while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better, and have participated in varsity competition in an NCAA-sponsored sport.