OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's golf team shot 12-over-par 292 Friday during the opening round of the tough OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, which is being hosted by Illinois at Olympia Fields Country Club (par 70, 7,219 yards).
The tournament features 11 teams ranked in the top 25 among its field of 15.
No. 3 Georgia Tech leads the event by two shots after a 2-under 278. No. 10 Pepperdine is second at even par, followed by No. 1 Texas in third at 1-over, while Florida State is in fourth at 2-over. No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 16 California and No. 20 Baylor are all tied for fifth. The Rebels are in 12th place.
Individually, Texas' Pierceson Coody leads by a shot at 3-under 67, while there is a five-way tie for second at 2-under.
UNLV junior Jack Trent and sophomore David Rauch were the Rebels' top performers Friday as they are both tied for 21st at 1-over. There are a total of 84 golfers competing.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The second round of the tournament will be played Saturday, September 21, starting at 8 a.m. CT. UNLV will be paired with Illinois and Northwestern, teeing off the 10th hole at 8:15 a.m. CT.
LIVE SCORING: Live scoring of the tournament is available at UNLVRebels.com, courtesy of Golfstat, or by clicking here.
REBEL NOTES:
• This is the second tournament of the season for the Rebels and the second of the week in the Chicago area. UNLV tied for fourth in its season opener hosted by Northwestern.
• UNLV lost Mountain West Golfer of the Year and All-America Scholar Harry Hall to graduation following last season. He recently competed at the prestigious Walker Cup, becoming just the third Rebel in program history to be invited.
• The Rebels have welcomed four new players to this year's roster.
• Last year's team appeared in a NCAA-record 31st straight regional and advanced to the national finals where it finished in the top 20.
• Jack Trent and David Rauch are UNLV's returning All-Mountain West performers. Trent captured the individual title at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in March, which earned him an exemption into the PGA Tour's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (will be played Oct. 3-6, at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas).
• Justin Kim, who turned in UNLV's best individual finish at the NCAA Finals last season, was also named an All-America Scholar.
• This year marks head coach Dwaine Knight's 33rd season leading the Rebel program.
