RENO, Nev. The University of Nevada men's golf team heads to Santa Cruz, Calif., this weekend for the 2009 Western Intercollegiate. San Jose State University will play host to the 18-team tournament Sunday-Tuesday, March 29-31 at the par 70, 6,511-yard Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz.
ABOUT THE WESTERN INTERCOLLEGIATE: Teams will play 18 holes each day with each round beginning with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.
The 18 teams competing in the 63rd annual Western Intercollegiate include Brown, California, Colorado, Denver, Fresno State, Kansas, Long Beach State, Mercer, Michigan State, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Saint Mary’s, tournament host San Jose State, Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara and Wyoming.
Live scoring for the tournament will be available at www.golfstat.com and www.westernintercollegiate.net, while a recap and results from each round will be available at www.nevadawolfpack.com.
NEVADA'S LINEUP: Nevada’s lineup for the John Burns Intercollegiate will include junior Taylor Coffman (San Diego, Calif.), junior Ryan Hallisey (Granite Bay, Calif.), junior Jared Becher (Reno, Nev.), sophomore Scott Smith (Fallon, Nev.) and senior Matt Rippy (Boise, Idaho).
LAST TIME OUT: Junior Taylor Coffman was the Wolf Pack’s top finisher as Nevada ended up in ninth place at the Fresno State Lexus Classic, held March 9-10 at the par 72, 6,511-yard Belmont Country Club in Fresno, Calif.
The Wolf Pack shot an eight-over 296 in the final round and finished ninth with a three-round total of 27-over 891 (300-295-296). Coffman turned in his third top 20 showing of the season, finishing 18th at three-over 219 (72-70-77). Junior Ryan Hallisey finished in a tie for 25th at six-over 222 (74-75-73), while Junior Jared Becher carded Nevada’s best round of the tournament with a three-under 69 in the final round and ended up in a tie for 35th at eight-over 224. That marked his team-leading sixth round in the 60s this season. Sophomore Scott Smith finished in a tie for 49th (76-73-78=227), while sophomore Chris Plappert ended up in a tie for 99th to round out the Wolf Pack lineup (86-80-77=243).
UP NEXT: Following the Western Intercollegiate, the Wolf Pack will return to action April 6-7, wrapping up the regular season with the Stevinson Ranch Invitational. The University of Colorado will play host to that tournament at the Stevinson Ranch Golf Course in Stevinson, Calif.
The 2009 Western Athletic Conference Championships are set for April 27-29 at the Rio Secco Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nev. The winner of the WAC Championship will receive an automatic berth to one of six NCAA Regional sites.
