Top-ranked Wildcat golfers stunned

Brian Foster Arizona Daily Wildcat

The Arizona Red team finished in second place (4-over par 856), five strokes behind the eighth-ranked Runnin' Rebels. Southern Cal and Arizona State finished in a tie for third place at 8-over par 860.

The Wildcats had to play a perfect round to make up ground on UNLV in their opening event of the spring season, but they could not get it done.

"(We) got off to a great start, but down the stretch, they didn't play that well," assistant coach Todd McCorkel said.

The Red team made an exceptional effort in trying to catch flawless UNLV, who led throughout the entire two-day tournament. UNLV was the only team that ended up under par.

Though the Wildcats did not come up with the home victory, McCorkel said, "This is a good group which is very dedicated and extremely proud."

Arizona's Red squad made up two strokes on the final day. However, UNLV's Bill Lunde paced the Runnin' Rebels with an even par 71, holding off the hard-charging Wildcats.

UA's Red team was led throughout the tournament by senior Rory Sabbatini. In the final round Sabbatini fired a 4-under par 67, which included birdies on the back nine at holes 11, 13, 14, and 18.

For the tournament, Sabbatini shot a 9-under par 204, which left him four strokes back of the individual champion, junior Joel Kribel of Stanford. Kribel's final round of 6-under par 65 sealed the victory over fellow competitors, Sabbatini and Lunde.

"I struggled with some things today which made me fight harder," Sabbatini said. "There is a lot more pressure to win at home, because you don't want the monkeys to come and win in your backyard."

Junior Andy Barnes and freshman Tim Weiss finished 10th and 13th respectively. Barnes moved up three spots from Monday's 36-hole session with a 1-over par 72 and a 2-over par 215 for the tournament.

Weiss played like a seasoned veteran in his first tournament of the spring season, finishing the event at 3-over 216. After firing a 3-under par 68 in Monday afternoon's round, he shot 2-over 73 yesterday.

The Arizona Blue team moved up two spots for a 14th place finish.

The Blue team was led by sophomore Ryan Meyer, who shot a 3-under 68 and finished in a tie for 27th place at 6-over 219. Right behind Meyer was sophomore Dave Bates, who finished the final round with a 3-over par 74 for a 7-over 220 total. Juniors Mark Manwaring and Aaron Friedman made valiant efforts to finish at 14-over and 15-over respectively.