May 4, 2011
Mountain West Conference Championship
Thursday: Round 1 – Lobos Tee off at 8:50 a.m. MST
Friday: Round 2 – Scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
Saturday: Round 3 – Scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
Live Scoring | OMNI Tucson National | Course Map | Mountain West Conference Championship Central
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of New Mexico men’s golf team knows a strong showing at the 2011 Mountain West Conference Championship tournament, held at the OMNI Tucson National golf club, can solidify its already strong NCAA postseason prospects.
The Lobos also know a win would eliminate all doubts.
A win at the MWC tournament comes with an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional round of play, the final step before securing a spot in the national championship tournament.
While the Lobos have qualified for the regional round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship every year but once (2008) since the NCAA introduced the format in 1989, they also know better than to take anything for granted.
“There would be nothing better than us winning the whole thing,” senior Travis Ross said. “With this being my last postseason as a collegian, it would mean a lot.”
Ross is one of three seniors, along with Sam Chavez and Tom Carlson, that have led the way for New Mexico throughout most of the season. Ross’ 72.84 scoring average is tops among the Lobos. He is ranked No. 159 among all collegiate golfers by Golfstat.com and No. 154 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
He’s finished in the top 25 in 11 of the Lobos’ 13 varsity events this year, with four top-10 finishes to his credit. Ross’ second-place finish at the Mark Simpson Invitational spearheaded New Mexico’s team title back in September.
“That’s why we’ve put in all the hard work,” Ross said. “It’s in the hope of peaking at the finish. We’ve got some great golf ahead of us, both at conference and hopefully at the NCAA regionals.”
Carlson has the second-best scoring average among the Lobos at 73.79. He’s also finished in the top 10 four times this season, with a fifth-place showing at the Arizona Intercollegiate to start the spring schedule. The 2011 MWC tourney marks the fourth time he’s played in the event, with tying for 21st his freshman year and for 33rd as both a sophomore and junior.
“We’re excited,” Carlson said. “I can’t believe it’s my fourth time here at the conference championship. This is my last year to help UNM win the Mountain West team title. It would mean everything to get it done.”
“We want to end our time in the Mountain West Conference on a high note,” Chavez said. “Not just myself, but the three of us seniors know it’s our last go `round. We really want to show everyone what this team is really capable of. We really want to put it all together for three straight rounds and see what happens.”
Chavez finished twice in the top 10 this past fall, taking fifth at the Mark Simpson and 10th at the Lobos’ own William H. Tucker Intercollegiate. He’s fourth on the team with a 75.42 stroke average over 38 rounds.
Joining the senior trio is a pair of sophomores, John Catlin and Ryan Gay. Both played in last year’s conference championship, where Catlin was named the MWC Freshman of the Year for the 2009-10 season.
Some of Catlin’s best golf of the season has come in New Mexico’s most recent tournaments. He’s finished in the top 25 of the Lobos’ last four events, most recently finishing 18th at Texas A&M’s Aggie invitational April 16-17. His 74.26 stroke average is third on the team. He finished 25th at last years’ MWC championships with a 10-over-par 223.
Gay’s rounds out New Mexico’s lineup with a scoring average of 76.17. He’s taken part in 10 of the Lobos’ 13 varsity events this year and finished tied for 39th with an 18-over 231.
“The team had a really good practice round today,” head coach Glen Millican said. “The guys are looking forward to getting the tournament started tomorrow.”
Millican’s Lobos are looking for his fifth conference crown since he took the helm on June 25, 2001. New Mexico won four straight conference titles from 2003-07 under Millican. The Lobos’ best finish since was a fourth-place showing at the 2009 tourney.
Steve Saunders, a third-team All American for New Mexico in 2009, was the last of a number of Lobos to take individual medalist honors at the MWC championships.
Saunders set three tournament records that year, winning by the largest margin of victory (4 strokes), posting the lowest score over 54 holes (204) and 18 holes (64) en route to winning the conference golfer of the year award.
New Mexico is familiar with the OMNI Tucson National Golf Club, playing twice there each of the past four seasons. That Millican has scheduled the National Invitational Tournament, hosted by the University of Arizona each spring, is no accident.
“We have played this course several times,” Millican said. We know we can do what it takes to post good scores.”
Lobo Lineup
Millican is sending the following five Lobos to the first tee Thursday: seniors Sam Chavez, Tom Carlson and Travis Ross and sophomores John Catlin and Ryan Gay.
Championship Field
The 2011 MW Championship features three teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfweek rankings, including No. 8 San Diego State, No. 41 TCU and No. 43 UNLV. Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, Wyoming and the Lobos round out the field.
Live Scoring
Live scoring of the Mountain West Conference Championship Tournament is available at the following Golfstat.com link:
Tee TimesRyan Gay tees off first for the Lobos. He’s scheduled to get started at 8:50 a.m. MST, followed by Sam Chavez (9 a.m.), John Catlin (9:10 a.m.), Tom Carlson (9:20 a.m.) and Travis Ross (9:30 a.m.).