by Kristie Boudwin
Daily Lobo
A threatening third-round performance by UNLV was not enough for the Rebels to throw the UNM men's golf team off of its championship throne.
The Lobos maintained the overall lead throughout the three-day tournament, but UNLV went out with a bang, finishing the third round 10-under-par 278 while the Lobos shot 2-under-par 286.
When the three rounds were tallied, UNM came out on top, beating UNLV by three strokes for its third consecutive Mountain West Conference championship title.
UNM head coach Glen Millican said the Lobos' strong performance throughout the tournament was a great accomplishment because Brigham Young and UNLV are two of the best teams in the nation.
"UNLV played great," Millican said. "Their score the last day was phenomenal. They have played some great golf, and they made it pretty tough for us at the end."
Millican is in his fourth season as head coach. The Lobos have won the conference championship three of those four years.
UNLV's Ryan Moore, the individual MWC champion last year, was named MWC Player of the Year. Moore is the top player for the Rebels this season and finished as the lowest amateur in the 2005 Masters.
UNM junior Mark Anderson said Moore competes for the individual championship in each tournament, but the other UNLV players did not score well enough in the fall season to make the team very competitive.
He said the other players have stepped up, and the Rebels are a much better team than in the fall.
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UNLV went into the tournament ranked fourth nationally, just one spot ahead of the fifth-place Lobos.ˇ
Millican was named MWC coach of the year. He said the conference gives the award to the coach of the team with the best season.
"The award is not a reflection on the coach as much as on the team and how well they have performed all year," Millican said.
Junior Spencer Levin finished the tournament second individually, trailing Nick Becker of BYU by one stroke. Levin has placed in the top 10 in nine of the 11 tournaments this season. Levin and sophomore Charlie Beljan were named to the MWC all-conference team for the second consecutive season.
UNM automatically advances to the regional competition May 19-21.
