RENO, Nev. Coming off its first outright win of the year, the University of Nevada men's golf team heads to Henderson, Nev., for the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Championship Monday-Wednesday, April 27-29. Utah State University will play host to the nine-team tournament at the par 72, 7,332-yard Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson. The Wolf Pack looks to win its first WAC Championship since 2007 and its seventh conference championship in the history of the program.
Nevada has finished in the top 10 in eight of 10 tournaments this season, including four top five showings and a win in the Stevinson Ranch Invitational April 6-7. Sophomore Scott Smith is leading the team with a 72.70 stroke average and six top 20 finishes this year, while junior Jared Becher is second at 72.97 strokes per round and four top 20 showings.
ABOUT THE WAC CHAMPIONSHIP: Teams will play 18 holes each day with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Nevada will tee off beginning at 8:20 a.m. on Monday, while second- and third-round tee times will be determined by results.
The nine teams competing in the WAC Championship include Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai’i, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State. Each team will field five players with the top four scores counting each round.
Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com, while a recap and results from each round will be available at www.nevadawolfpack.com.
Awards will be presented following the completion of the tournament, including the championship team trophy, top three finishers at the championship, all-conference first and second teams (five each) based on season play, Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.
NEVADA'S LINEUP: Nevada’s lineup for the 2009 WAC Championship will include junior Ryan Hallisey (Granite Bay, Calif.), sophomore Scott Smith (Fallon, Nev.), junior Jared Becher (Reno, Nev.), junior Taylor Coffman (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore Chris Plappert (Las Vegas, Nev.).
NEVADA’S WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY: The Wolf Pack has won a total of six conference championships in the history of its men’s golf program, including its first Western Athletic Conference title in 2007. Nevada has finished in the top five at the WAC Championship in six of its eight years as a member of the conference. The team also won West Coast Athletic Conference championships in 1977, 1978 and 1979 and captured a pair of Big Sky Conference titles in 1984 and 1986. Nevada has had four individual conference champions with Dave Nelson winning WCAC titles in 1977 and 1978, Mike Gilmartin capturing Big Sky individual medalist honors in 1985 and Steve Watson winning the Big Sky in 1986.
LAST YEAR AT THE WAC CHAMPIONSHIP: Led by Scott Smith, Nevada finished fifth at the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Championship, held April 28-30 at the par 72, 6,853-yard Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose, Calif.
The Wolf Pack carded its best round of the tournament with a 17-over 305 in the final round and finished with a three-day total of 56-over 920 (308-307-305). Smith turned in his second top 10 finish of the season with a tie for eighth place with a three-round total of nine-over 225 (73-74-78). Ryan Hallisey finished in a tie for 16th at 14-over 230 (77-76-77), while Jared Becher turned in a tie for 20th at 17-over 233 (82-76-75). Chase Cooper, a first-team All-WAC selection, finished one stroke behind and tied for 23rd at 18-over 234 (76-83-75), while Taylor Coffman ended up in a tie for 35th (82-81-81=244).
LAST TIME OUT: The Wolf Pack battled stormy conditions to capture a nine-stroke victory at the 16-team Stevinson Ranch Invitational, held April 6-7 at the par 72, 7,142-yard Stevinson Ranch Golf Club in Stevinson, Calif.
Nevada came into the final round trailing tournament host Colorado by one stroke but carded a one-over 289 in the final round to earn the victory. With its three-round total of five-over 869, the Wolf Pack bested the Buffs by nine strokes and earned its first outright tournament victory since capturing the WAC Championship in 2007. It is also the fourth top five finish of the season for Nevada, which also tied for first but lost in a playoff at the Giustina Memorial Classic in September.
Junior Ryan Hallisey led the team with a second-place finish, his first top 10 showing of the year. He carded a three-under 69 in the final round, his third consecutive sub-par round, to finish at seven-under 209 (71-69-69). Hallisey finished just one stroke behind individual medalist Pat Grady of Colorado (69-68-71=208). Sophomore Scott Smith finished in a tie for eighth at two-over 218 (68-77-73), while junior Jared Becher ended up in a tie for 11th at three-over 219 (76-70-73). Junior Taylor Coffman (77-74-76=227) and sophomore Chris Plappert (79-75-74=228) finished tied for 44th and 49th, respectively, to round out the Wolf Pack lineup.
UP NEXT: The winner of the WAC Championship will earn the league’s automatic berth to one of the six NCAA Regionals. The NCAA Regionals are set for May 14-16 in Galloway, N.J., Austin, Texas, Daly City, Calif., Sorrento, Fla., Bowling Green, Ky., and Stillwater, Okla. The NCAA Men’s Golf Committee will announce the field of 81 teams and 45 individuals for the NCAA Regionals (13 teams and 10 individuals at each of three sites and 14 teams and five individuals at the other three sites) via a conference call at 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, May 4. Nevada looks to earn its 12th all-time NCAA Regional appearance and its first since 2007.
The top five teams and one individual not on those teams at each regional site will earn an invitation to the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio. The University of Toledo will play host to the national tournament at the Inverness Club in Toledo.
