The University of Arizona men's golf team carded a two-over 362 yesterday to finish second at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships.

The runner-up performance was Arizona's best at the conference championships since 1994 by posting a four-round total of 1,466 (+26). Bolstered by two players finishing below par, Arizona's final round tally was the lowest of the championships. The Wildcats finished 27 strokes behind tournament-winner UCLA, who finished the four rounds at 1-under par. The Bruins were the only team to

finish the 72 holes under par. Arizona State, Stanford and Washington rounded out the top-five places.

Individually, three Wildcats finished in the top 20, led by Ricky Barnes. The senior from Stockton, Calif., carded a three-under 69 Wednesday to finish in a tie for fourth place overall. Barnes completed the event with an even-par 288 and collected his seventh top-10 finish in 10 collegiate scoring events this season. It was also his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at the Pac-10 Championships.

Junior Chris Nallen continued his run of solid play by finishing in a tie for 12th place. Nallen posted a 1-under 71, his lone sub-par round of the tournament, to finish with a four-round tally of 291 (+3). It was his 11th top-20 placing in 12 scoring events this season. Senior Andrew Medley carded a 1-over 73, and finished in 17th place at 295 (+7).

UCLA's John Merrick captured individual medallist honors with a 12-under 276 total. He shot a 9-under-par 63 yesterday to win the event by 10 strokes.

UA senior Reid Hatley tallied a final-round 76 to tie for 23rd place at 300 (+12) total. Fellow UA senior Brian Woolf tied for 27th place at 301 (+13), while sophomore Kipp Riehle tied for 40th place at 306 (+18).

The Pac-10 Men's Golf Championships were contested in the greater Los Angeles area at Oakmont Country Club, a par-72, 6,736-yard facility. The 72-hole event employs a unique scoring system where six golfers from each school, rather than the usual five, compete each round with the top five scores counting towards the team total.

Pending an invitation, Arizona will next be in action, May 15-17, at one of three NCAA Regionals. Selections will be announced on Monday. Arizona has participated in each of the previous 14 NCAA Regionals.