United Athletic Conference

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Program Cover.pdf Schools.pdf Men's Golf History.pdf Tournament Scorecard.pdf

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WHAT:
2005 Wells Fargo WAC Men's Golf Championship

WHERE:
Squire Creek Country Club
Choudrant, Louisiana (Louisiana Tech, host)

WHEN:
May 2-4, 2005

PREVIEW
The 43rd annual Wells Fargo Western Athletic Conference mens golf championship is May 2-4 at the 7,105-yard, par-72 Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, La. SMU looks to repeat as champions, but will be fighting off Tulsa and Fresno State, the 2002 and 2003 title holders, respectively. The Mustangs placed three in the top seven in 2004 to claim the title. The WAC will crown a new medalist for the first time in four years. Tulsas David Inglis joins Justin Leonard of Texas as the only players to win their conference tournament all four years. Nevada senior Casey Watabu and UTEP sophomore James Allenby are the top finishers from last year, tying for second and finishing two stokes back.

Boise State finished tied for fourth at last years championship, just two shots back of third-place UTEP. This season, the Broncos started off the season finishing second in the 10-team Bronco Round-Up in October with a team score of 844. Both Brett Kleinkopf and Jason Williams placed in the top 10, finishing fourth and ninth, respectively, at the Bronco Round-Up. Junior Adam Choy has three top 15 finishes, including a tie for sixth in the Miranda Falcon Invitational with a three-round total of 218 (+2). Choy is the Broncos top returner as he tied for eighth at last years WAC Tournament with a one-under, 215.

Fresno State tied for fourth in 2004, with Chad Spencer as the Bulldogs top finisher tying for eighth. The Bulldogs have captured eight top-10 finishes so far this season while competing against some of the top-ranked squads in the country. Most recently, Fresno State brought home the Ping BYU Cougar Classic, setting a tournament record with a 44-under, 820. They were led by medalist Mark Modglin who carded rounds of 66-64-72 for a 14-under, 202. Now in his 27th season leading the Bulldog mens golf team, head coach Mike Watney has tutored 28 All-Americans, helped his squads capture 12 conference championships, and had his teams qualify for the NCAA Championships 23 times.

Hawaii started the season off strong winning its fall tournament, the Hawaii/Turtle Bay Intercollegiate, with a combined score of 862 (-2). Sophomore Cody Wolferbarger won the Hawaii/Turtle Bay Intercollegiate with a 206 (-10), the only win of the year for a Warrior golfer. Junior Jarett Hamamoto has two top-10 finishes, coming in sixth at the Ron Moore Classic and eighth at the Hawaii/Turtle Bay Intercollegiate. Hawaii finished tied for seventh at last years WAC Championships. Head coach Ronn Miyashiro is in his seventh season at Hawaii, after joining the staff in 1998 at the age of 23. He became the athletic departments youngest coach ever.

Louisiana Tech is under the direction of first-year head coach Dr. Jean Hall, a former vice president at the University. The Bulldogs are out to better their 10th-place finish at last years championship. Junior Derek Busby leads the returning Bulldogs, tying for 35th in 2004. Louisiana Tech took the Hal Sutton Intercollegiate Tournament championship on April 5 by 23 strokes as all five Bulldogs finished in the top-10 of individual play. Junior Jason Jenkins finished second, while teammates Preston Smith and Busby finished third and fourth, respectively. Busby tied for first place in individual play at the Homewood Suites Intercollegiate Tournament in Hammond, La., on March 26, helping Tech to a third-place finish. Techs Chad Carter turned in the best round in the Rice Intercollegiate Tournament on Feb. 13, shooting a 68 in round two.

Nevada is also under new direction as Rich Merritt is in his first season as the Wolf Packs head coach. He spent six seasons at the University of Louisiana-Monroe before coming to Reno. The Wolf Pack have posted two top-10 finishes this spring and a total of six top-10 finishes on the season. At the 2004 WAC Championship, Nevada claimed sixth place. They were led by this years top returner, Casey Watabu, who tied for second. Nevadas best finish this season was a tie for second place at the Oregon Duck Invitational in March.

Rice looks to better its ninth-place finish from 2004, as it is led by Frank Buttacavoli and Matt Toohey who have each shot a 69 for the lowest round of the year by an Owl. Toohey, who was the Owls top finisher last year, has the lowest three-round score of the season with a 214 at the Radrick Farms Intercollegiate. Buttacavoli fired a 215 at the Border Olympics to place third and earn WAC Player of the Week honors. The Owls best team finishes have been fourth at both the Crown Classic and Louisiana Tech Invitational.

San Jose State has five top-10 finishes in its first 10 tournaments including a victory in the Anteater Invitational hosted by UC Irvine. The team title was the first for the Spartans since November 2001. John Dormann has served as the head coach of the mens golf team since February when Nancy Lewis resigned as the schools Director of Golf. Dormann has been a part of the coaching staff since the start of the 1998-99 season. He looks to better the Spartans seventh-place finish in 2004. Justin Madison returns as the Spartans top finisher, as they lost their top three finishers from 2004. Freshman David Kim leads the Spartans in stroke average. Kim has two top-10 finishes this season including a victory at the Anteater Invitational. Kim and Madison are the two Spartans who have earned WAC Player of the Week honors for the 2004-05 season.

SMU won its first-ever WAC title in 2004 with an 11-stroke victory, also marking the first conference championship for SMU since 1988. SMU has won the last two WAC Freshman of the Year awards, with Will Dodson winning in 2003 and Colt Knost winning in 2004. SMU has won three tournaments this season, taking the University Club Intercollegiate, Louisiana Classic and Pinehurst Classic titles. Knost won the individual honors at the Pinehurst Classic, posting a six-under, 206. Head coach Jay Loar was voted WAC Coach of the Year and GCAA South Central Regional Coach of the Year in 2004.

UTEP has five returning letterwinners and four newcomers on its 2005 roster. The most significant loss is All-American Chris Baryla, who won four tournaments as a Miner. Sophomore James Allenby tied for second place at last years WAC Championship, leading the Miners to a third-place finish. UTEP claimed its first title since 2002, winning the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in April. The Miners were led by Trent Rommann who tied for second. Rommann redshirted last season, but played for the Miners during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. His best stroke average, 75.2, was achieved during his freshman year.

Tulsa has placed first or second at the WAC Championship in each of the past four seasons. Tulsa won the title in 2002 and finished second in 2001, 2003 and 2004. Tulsas David Inglis won the WAC individual title in each of his four years at Tulsa, joining Justin Leonard of Texas as the only college golfers to win their conference tournament all four years. Two Tulsa players have turned in back-to-back top-10 performances this year, as Mitch Cohlmia had two fifth-place finishes in consecutive tournaments and Sam Korbe had a third-place and eighth-place performance in Tulsas last two tournaments. Three Tulsa players have earned WAC Player of the Week honors this season; Brett Myers, Mitch Cohlmia and Sam Korbe.

TEAMS COMPETEING:
Boise State Broncos
Fresno State Bulldogs
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Nevada Wolf Pack
Rice Owls
San Jose State Spartans
SMU Mustangs
UTEP Miners
Tulsa Golden Hurricane

SCORECARD:
Click on the .pdf to right to view the tournamnet scorecard.

CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM:
Click on Championship Program's to the right to view the cover and see your favorite school's team notes, rosters, schedules and pictures.