The 2002-03 season ended for the UNM men's golf team with a disappointing performance at the NCAA Championship May 27-30, but the Lobos have plenty to hold their heads up about this summer.
Although the Lobos played less than stellar golf at the national championship, contested at the ultra-demanding Karsten Creek course in Stillwater, Okla., it was the fact that their season was cut one round short that left the real postseason sting.
Tournament officials, concerned any weather delays or a potential playoff could postpone the tournament's completion, informed players that the field would be cut to the low 18 teams and six players not on those teams, before they teed off May 29.
After posting rounds of 309-314-305-928, UNM stood 64-over-par, in 24th place and on the outside looking in.
Cutting the field "was a bad decision on the NCAA's part," head coach Glen Millican said. "I thought it was a joke and not just because we missed it. The problem coaches had with the decision was that we had finished the first three rounds with time to spare."
With a lineup featuring only one senior, captain Michael Letzig, the boys in cherry and silver were a model of consistency over the course of a 13-tournament campaign. With two wins, including UNM's first-ever Mountain West Conference title, nine top-sixes and only two finishes outside the top-10, the Lobos had one of their best seasons in recent memory.
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"All in all I would definitely say we had a pretty good year," Millican said. He added that bringing the MWC trophy back to the Duke City from Sunriver, Ore., was "awesome" and probably the year's highlight.
Other bright spots would have to include the laundry list of postseason awards earned by the Lobos. Millican was named coach of the year for the Southwest Region; junior Ian Medlock grabbed PING All-Region honors and was also named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar; and freshman Jay Choi joined Medlock on the all-region team.
It was Letzig, however, who brought home the most accolades.
This was a breakout season for the senior, who said he will turn pro in a few weeks. Three wins, most notably the NCAA West Regional and the MWC Championship, and only one finish outside the top-20, made him conference player of the year and an all-region performer.
"I had a great year," Letzig said. "When I didn't have my best I still managed to shoot around par or a few under and when I did have it, I took it low."
One honor though, an appointment to the second-team PING All-American squad, left a sour taste in the senior's mouth. Of the 11 players named ahead of Letzig to the first team, five had losing records against him and six had higher scoring averages.
"It's pretty disappointing," he said. "But it just goes to show that New Mexico gets no respect as a golf school."
Sophomore Jay Reynolds, who was in and out of the lineup and off his game for much of the season because of a recurring back injury, is well aware of the Letzig's contributions to the Lobo cause.
"If I had to give it a grade, I'd give [the team] a B and I'd give Mike an A-plus," Reynolds said.
