June 27, 2011

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's golf team had three student-athletes earn Spring 2011 Academic All-Mountain West honors, the conference announced Monday.

Blake Biddle, who was a freshman in 2010-11, has a 3.34 cumulative grade point average. His major is undeclared. Derek Ernst, who was a junior this past year, has a 3.20 cumulative GPA, and Colby Smith, who was also a junior, has a 3.65 cumulative GPA. Ernst is an interdisciplinary studies major and Smith is majoring in entrepreneurship.

Smith was honored for the third straight year, while this is Ernst's first time on the Academic All-MW team.

To be eligible for selection to the Academic All-MW 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.

The three honorees for men's golf matches last year's number for the program. Four Rebel golfers were recognized for the achievement in 2007-08.

Biddle played in 38 rounds for the Rebels last season and recorded a scoring average of 72.82, which was third on the team. He had five top-10 finishes and 14 rounds at par or better. Ernst played in a team-high 41 rounds and led the squad with a scoring average of 71.93. He had eight top-10 finishes, including three top-fives and shot par or better 20 times. Smith played in 32 rounds and averaged 76.53 per round.