March 20, 2011

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's golf team will return to action this Monday-Tuesday, March 21-22, as it will compete at the National Invitational Tournament, which will be played at Omni Tucson National Golf Club (par 72, 7,094 yards) in Tucson, Ariz. The tournament is being hosted by the University of Arizona.

The 54-hole tournament is scheduled to be played over two days with 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday. Rounds are expected to begin at 7:30 a.m. each day. The 16-team field is made up of host Arizona (two squads), Colorado State, Indiana, Kansas, Kent State, New Mexico, Northern Iowa, SMU, TCU, Tulsa, UNLV, Utah, UTEP, Villanova and Wyoming.

TCU won last year's NIT with a total of 12-under-par 852. Texas' Dylan Frittelli won medalist honors at last year's event with a 6-under 210. UNLV did not play in last year's NIT, but it did compete in the event in 2009, finishing with a 1-under 863 and a fourth-place finish.

Three Rebels who played in the 2009 event will play in this week's tournament: juniors Derek Ernst and Colby Smith, and senior Jeremiah Wooding. Ernst finished tied for 18th at 2-over 218 in that event, Smith tied for 29th at 5-over 221 and Wooding tied for 73rd at 16-over 232. Other UNLV players competing this week are sophomore Kevin Penner and freshman Blake Biddle.

At the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, UNLV's last tournament, which it hosted March 11-13, the Rebels finished seventh. UNLV has played in eight events this year, turning in five top-five finishes, including two second-place finishes.

Live scoring of the NIT will provided by Golfstat. A link from UNLVRebels.com is available.