Feb. 20, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB junior Zach Sucher is off to a terrific start in 2008. After capturing medalist honors at the Gator Invitational on Feb, 8-10 and a 16th-place finish at last weekend's John Hayt Collegiate on Feb. 17-19, Sucher was tabbed the Conference USA Men's Golfer of the Week, announced by league officials on Wednesday.

Sucher is a big part of the reason why the Blazer men's golf team improved to No. 25 in the latest Golfstat.com national rankings. It is the best national ranking for UAB since the 2001-02 campaign.

"This is a great honor for Zach," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "Zach has played great in our first two tournaments this spring. I am expecting some big things from him and he hasn't disappointed. It is a real credit to the amount of work he has put in over the past year and a half."

Sucher led UAB to impressive finishes to open the spring season. Last week, the Mobile, Ala. native closed play at the SunTrust Gator Invitational (Feb. 9-10) with a seven-under 203 (68-67-68) to capture co-medalist honors. He led the Blazers to a fourth-place finish at the prestigious event. Sucher's win marked the second victory of his career and the first of the 2007-08 season.

This past weekend, Sucher also led UAB this past weekend at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., as he tied for 16th overall with a five-over par 221. His efforts helped the Blazers defeat four teams ranked ahead of them in the latest national poll.

Sucher, who shares this week's award with UCF's David Johnson, earns his third conference weekly award, and the first of the 2007-08 campaign.

Sucher and the Blazers will next be in action when they compete at the Seminole Intercollegiate on March 2-4.