Air Force Academy
Mountain West Conference Championship
Air Force Claims Sixth Place at MWC Championship
5/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 8, 2010
TUCSON, Ariz. -
The Air Force golf team posted its highest MWC finish ever on Saturday, placing sixth at the 2010 Mountain West Conference Championship, being held at the par-71, 7,144-yard Catalina Course at OMNI Tucson National. The Falcons turned in their best round of the tournament on Saturday, firing a 291 to finish at 887 (+35).
The Falcons' previous best finish at the Mountain West Conference Championship was in 2002, when they placed seventh in the eight-team league.
Sophomore Robert Belz (San Antonio, Texas) was the top finisher for the Falcons, tying for 19th overall with a three-round score of 217 (+4) after firing a 72 on Saturday. Freshman Andrew Hoops (Highland, Calif.), who also shot a 72 in the final round, was next in the individual standings, tying for 26th place at 221.
Senior Tom Whitney (La Quinta, Calif.), the Falcons' leader throughout the season, struggled on the final day of competition before finishing the tournament tied for 31st place overall at 225. Meanwhile, Caleb Leestma (So., Seabrook, Texas) and Kyle Bailey (Jr., Austin, Texas) each turned in their best rounds of the tournament on Saturday before placing 38th and tied for 41st, respectively.
Colorado State ran away with the team title, finishing at 834 (-18) for the tournament, 13 strokes ahead of second-place San Diego State. The Rams were led by Ryan Peterson, who earned medalist honors with a three-round score of 205 (-8).
UNLV finished third in the team standings, followed by BYU in fourth place, 2009 champion TCU in fifth place and Air Force in sixth. Wyoming (seventh), New Mexico (eighth) and Utah (ninth) rounded out the competition.
Next up are the NCAA Regionals, which will be held May 20-22 at six sites around the country. Selections to the regionals will be announced on Monday, May 10.
Final Results
6 Air Force 304-292-291 887
T19 Robert Belz 76-69-72 217
T26 Andrew Hoops 74-75-72 221
T31 Tom Whitney 76-71-78 225
38 Caleb Leestma 78-77-75 230
T41 Kyle Bailey 78-82-72 232
Players Mentioned
