Five months of practice in Albuquerque's inconsistent weather conditions proved a perfect recipe for the UNM men's golf team which won its first ever Mountain West Conference title in snowy Sunriver, Ore., May 1-3.
"Playing in bad weather is not the most fun thing in the world to do," head coach Glen Millican said. "But when those kinds of conditions do arise, it's nice to have seen them before. I definitely think playing in Albuquerque helped."
The Lobos posted rounds of 276-288-291-855 to finish 9-under-par and nine strokes clear of BYU and San Diego State University.
"Obviously playing a great round Thursday gave us some breathing room," Millican said. "To see the guys play that way on a day when they knew scores would be low was encouraging."
But as conditions began to worsen in the second round, the Lobos' mental toughness would be tested.
Sophomore Madalitso Muthiya and senior Michael Letzig stumbled out of the blocks Friday morning. Muthiya was 3-over-par through nine and Letzig 2-over, letting the competition back into the fray. Both players, however, battled back to shoot even-par 72s to preserve the UNM lead going into the final round.
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"That was huge," Millican said. "Those guys showed a lot of guts. If they hadn't done that, we could have been four or five back and from that position, we could have played well [Saturday] and still lost."
Saturday offered the week's toughest test, as winds picked up and temperatures plummeted - the Lobos responded.
Letzig fired the day's low round, a 3-under 69, which kept his team in front and erased the five-stroke deficit he faced in the race for individual medallist honors.
"Finally," said Letzig, who had done everything but win this spring. Through 16 holes he had caught and passed Colorado State University's Martin Laird.
But the drama was far from over. Letzig bogeyed the 17th, and a par at the last hole left the two tied, heading down the 386-yard, par-4 first hole for a sudden-death playoff.
Laird made a crucial error from the tee, snap hooking his tee shot into a fairway bunker. Letzig found the short grass, stuck his approach to 20 feet and two-putted for the victory.
"I told my dad I was going to win one of the last three," said the senior, who did not three-putt in Sunriver. "This wasn't the big one, but hopefully I can win" either regionals or nationals too, he said.
Muthiya's 2-over-par 218 total earned him a tie for 10th while sophomore Jay Reynolds, junior Ian Medlock and three other players, birdied 11, 12 and 13 Friday to help solidify the Lobos' mid-round comeback.
"I think we showed real determination to hang on like that," Muthiya said.
Refusing to fold up tent in the face of adversity, Reynolds added that the Lobos, "told the rest of the field that we came to play."
"I feel like any time the conditions are tough like that, we have a huge advantage," he said. "Mike's 69 - I can't tell you how good that was."
After a disappointing first-round 77, Medlock said he was able to relax and find his form, which translated into a 71-70 finish. The junior credited good speed on the greens and "making all the short ones I needed to" for his high finish.
Freshman Jay Choi, who opened with a 4-under-par 68, faded to a 35th place finish.
"Every guy on this team contributed greatly," Millican said.
Next up for the Lobos will be regional play May 15-17, probably in Seattle, Wash. UNM will find out for sure sometime this week, Millican said.
"We're looking forward to it," Letzig said. "It was really great to see this team come together this week."
