CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior golfer Chris Nallen was recently named Pac-10 Golfer of the Year. Fellow golfer Henry Liaw was named Freshman of the Year, and coach Rick LaRose was named Coach of the Year.

To the victor go the spoils.

Fresh off its five-stroke victory at the 2004 Pacific 10 Conference Men's Golf Championships, the UA swept the league's postseason honors as Chris Nallen was named Pac-10 Golfer of the Year Henry Liaw was named Freshman of the Year, and coach Rick LaRose was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year in voting by the Pac-10 men's golf coaches.

Nallen, a senior from Hackettstown, N.J., is a three-time first-team all-Pac-10 selection and a finalist for the 2004 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate golfer. He has won three tournaments this year and has posted four other top-five finishes. Nallen has a stroke average of 69.92 this season, on pace for a school record with the possibility of becoming the first Wildcat to average less than 70 strokes per round for a season.

At one point, Nallen posted a string of eight consecutive competitive rounds in the 60s. Included was a 62 in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, which tied the Arizona record and tied for the fifth-lowest round in Pac-10 history. It marks the third time in the last four years that an Arizona golfer has been named Pac-10 Player of the Year, as Nallen follows former teammate Ricky Barnes (2001, 2003).

Liaw, from Rowland Heights, Calif., capped a standout freshman season by winning the Pac-10 Championship by four strokes. That added to a season that saw him garner four top-10 finishes and seven finishes in the top 20. Liaw came on strong in the spring season with seven consecutive tournaments under par, scoring 19 of 22 rounds at par or better, including eight rounds in the 60s. For the year, Liaw has a 71.67 stroke average.

LaRose directed Arizona to a final-round, come-from-behind victory in the Pac-10 Championships. His Wildcats collected four victories and two second-place finishes in seven tournaments this spring.

In addition to the Pac-10 Championships, Arizona was the winner of the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate, the John Burns Intercollegiate and the Hall of Fame Invitational.

Now in his 26th year at the Arizona helm, LaRose has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Championships for 17 consecutive seasons. He is the only coach in history to win both a men's and women's NCAA golf title and last year was inducted into the Golf Coaches of America Hall of Fame.

It marks the third time LaRose has been named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. He was previously honored in 1987 and 1991.

Freshman Josh Esler was an honorable mention all-conference honoree. The native of Wauconda, Ill., has a 73.76 stroke average through 12 team events. He earned his best collegiate finish to date by placing eighth at last week's Pac-10 Championships with a 1-over par 289 total.

The UA men's golf team, ranked No. 8 nationally in the Precept Golf Coaches Association of America Coaches Poll, will next be in action May 20-22 when it competes in the 2004 NCAA West Regional at The Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.