by Kristie Boudwin
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's golf team got off to a good start in its quest to earn a third consecutive Mountain West Conference championship title.
The Lobos finished the first day of the tourney in first place. With 3-under-par 285, UNM leads San Diego State and Brigham Young by seven strokes.
Spencer Levin shot 3-under-par 69 to end up on top of the first round. Jay Choi finished Thursday with 2-under-par 70. Only four other players shot under par during the tournament's first day.
The conference championship began Thursday at the Crosswater Course at Sunriver Resort in Oregon and concludes Saturday. The teams play 18 holes each day for the three days of the tournament.
The conference champion is guaranteed a spot in the regional competition, and then the top teams in the district are chosen to fill the remaining spots.
Five members of the team are chosen by the coaches to travel to each tournament and the four low scores are counted each day.
On Thursday afternoon, junior Mark Anderson said it is a tough decision for the coaches to make, because it is hard to predict how well a player will shoot on any given week.
"That's the toughest part of being a coach," Anderson said. "This season our team has six, seven, sometimes eight guys competing to play, and he has to decide who is best each week."
The players competing at the MWC tournament are seniors Madalitso Muthiya and Miguel Griego, juniors Choi and Levin and sophomore Charlie Beljan.
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Levin was named Mountain West Conference co-golfer for April and is ranked second in the nation.
Anderson said the players who do not travel to tournaments support the team from home, watching their scores hole-by-hole on the Internet and calling to encourage them.
"Sometimes it is good for a player to be able to vent frustration to a player at home," Anderson said. "For the most part, we just keep playing golf and work hard so that we are ready if the team needs us."
Anderson said the team's attitude is different than it was last year, and it is ready to show post-season results.
"Last year I didn't see the same confidence," Anderson said. "This year we know we our potential, and we won't settle for anything less than competing for the national title."
Tee times for today's second round of the tournament begin at 10:30 a.m.
