April 23, 2008

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

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freshmen Phil Henzlik, Gabe Maier, Mike May and Zach Zaremba, as well as redshirt freshman Aaron Johnson and head coach Joe Jensen.

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The University of Wyoming men's golf team will begin play tomorrow at the 2008 Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship. The event will take place Thursday through Saturday, April 24-26, at the Tucson National Catalina Course in Tucson, Ariz.

"In a single round we have beaten six of the eight other teams in the conference this season," said Wyoming Director of Golf Joe Jensen. "We have played two good rounds in events this year and then just awful in one of the rounds. I really believe that at this tournament we will again get those two good rounds. Then, if we can somehow manage that third round we'll be okay. We're certainly capable of finishing near the top of this field."

The championship will consist of 54 holes, 18 each day, with tee times at 8 a.m. (MT). The winner of the MWC Tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Last season the Cowboys placed eighth of nine teams at the league championship.

At the championship each team will play five golfers and count the top four scores. This will be the first MWC event for all five players on UW's traveling roster, four true freshmen and one redshirt freshman. Wyoming will be represented by freshmen Phil Henzlik, Gabe Maier, Mike May and Zach Zaremba, as well as redshirt freshman Aaron Johnson.

Maier leads the Cowboys with a stroke average of 74.83 this season, followed closely by Zaremba (75.77), then Johnson (76.00), May (76.17) and Henzlik (76.65). Season highlights for the `Pokes include the steady play of Maier, rounds of four-under par by May and Zaremba, a second place individual finish by May, a team finish of fourth place this past fall, as well as the third-best single round score ever by a UW squad to close the fall season.

BYU is the defending MWC team champion, while TCU's Robby Ormand won the 2007 individual title. Wyoming will be paired with Air Force and New Mexico in the first round on Thursday, and the first groups from those schools will tee off at 9:40 a.m. (MT). All nine MWC schools sponsor men's golf programs.

Annually one of the top men's golf conferences in the nation, the MWC boasts two teams ranked in the top-25 according to GolfStat.com, UNLV (#16) and San Diego State (#25). Four additional teams, TCU (#45), Colorado State (#79), Utah (#91) and BYU (#99), also rank in the top-100.

UNLV junior Seung su-Han and San Diego State senior Aaron Goldberg lead the MWC in stroke average entering the Championship at 70.54 and 71.47, respectively.

This will mark the second consecutive year the event will be held at Tucson National. The course measures 7,136 yards and plays to a par of 71. The Omni Tucson National Golf Resort, located in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, has been the home to countless PGA Tour and NCAA events including the prestigious Chrysler Classic of Tucson.

The MWC will provide live stats for the Championship. The live stats link can be found on the MWC Golf Championship webpage at www.TheMWC.com. Simply click the golf championship link to track all the action. A live stats link can also be found directly on Golfstat.com.