May 16, 2015
UNLVGolf on Twitter | UNLV's Videos from Noblesville | Results
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (UNLVRebels.com) - The No. 24 UNLV men's golf team shot a final-round-low 10-under-par 278 on Saturday and finished third at the 2015 NCAA Noblesville Regional, which was played at Sagamore Golf Club (par 72, 7,173 yards).
With the top-five finish at the regional, the Rebels have advanced to their 19th NCAA Championship tournament and second in the last three years.
Also advancing were Illinois and SMU, who tied for first at 4-under, and UCLA and Oregon, who finished fourth and fifth at 5- and 7-over, respectively. The Rebels' 54-hole total was 1-under, just three shots back of the team champions. Colorado finished sixth at 15-over, failing to advance to the national finals.
Individually, Illinois' Brian Campbell earned medalist honors by three shots at 10-under 206. He shot a final-round 7-under 65 with eight birdies and one eagle. His 65 broke the competitive course record of 66 set on Friday by Virginia Tech's Scott Vincent.
Colorado's David Oraee finished second at 7-under to claim the individual spot to advance to the NCAA finals. UCLA's Jonathan Garrick finished third at 6-under.
The Rebels were led by senior Kurt Kitayama, who shot a final-round 4-under 68 and finished sixth at 3-under 213. Kitayama had four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys during the final round.
Fellow UNLV seniors Nicholas Maruri and Carl Jonson each tied for 16th at 2-over. Maruri shot 5-under during the final round with four birdies, one eagle and one bogey, while Jonson was even par. Junior AJ McInerney finished tied for 21st at 4-over after a final-round 1-under and freshman Shintaro Ban finished tied for 43rd at 10-over after a final-round 1-over. Mountain West Freshman of the Year John Oda was unable to compete because of a wrist injury and did not make the trip.
"I am very proud of the way our five guys played without John (Oda), our low scoring average player for the year not being here," UNLV head coach Dwaine Knight said. "They stepped up and played some incredible golf today from start to finish. We had birdies and eagles all the way through the entire round, not just for part of it.
"Two years ago at the finals in Atlanta, we made such a great run to the Elite Eight and four of these guys were there. Today was really similar in the way we played and the guys all said they felt that way. We know what it is like to get into the hunt and we want to be able to do that at the finals. We took two trips to Florida this year in preparation if we were fortunate to make it to the finals, so we have a little experience with that type of grass. We are really looking forward to getting down there and competing."
There were a total of six 54-hole regional tournaments. The Noblesville Regional consisted of 14 teams and 75 individuals. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each of the regionals advanced to the NCAA Championship finals, which will be played May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. (hosted by South Florida).
This year marked UNLV's 27th straight appearance in a NCAA Regional, which is the record for most consecutive appearances.
