UNLV men’s golf has strong fall season

Each season, it’s rarely been a case of rebuilding, but rather just reloading for Knight. And this season, that’s once again the case — perhaps more than any other year.

UNLV played four fall tournaments, won three of them and took a plenty respectable sixth in the one event it didn’t win. Knight has seen plenty of good golf in his coaching career, but never a stretch this good, this early.

“It’s really pleasing,” Knight said. “It’s the best fall we’ve ever had here, so it was very exciting for us.”

The Rebels opened the year in the Gene Miranda Invitational, played Sept. 18-19 at Air Force’s Eisenhower Golf Club outside Colorado Springs, Colo. UNLV tied with Colorado State in the three-round event at 20-under 844 — 13 shots clear of the rest of the 19-team field — and the Rebels shot 2 under in a playoff to get the win.

Kevin Penner was co-medalist, tying with Ball State’s T.J. Carpenter at 7-under 209, and four Rebels finished in the top 15.

Two weeks later, at the William H. Tucker Invitational, UNLV posted a 3-over 867 to beat host New Mexico by four shots, with Derek Ernst tying for third and Penner tying for fifth.

After just one day off, UNLV went to the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala., and took sixth among 12 teams, with Ernst again finishing third individually.

The Rebels then capped the fall with a victory at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, N.M., posting a stunning 34-under 818 total for an eight-shot win among 14 teams. Sophomore Nicholas Maruri led the Rebels, taking third at 11-under 202.

“We set tournament records (at Air Force and Las Cruces) that were really long-standing records,” Knight said. “Those were really significant for us to show an ability to shoot low.”

Knight had no problem spreading praise among several players — leaders Ernst (senior) and Penner (junior), sophomores Maruri and Blake Biddle, and even freshman Carl Jonson.

“Derek played really well in the summer,” Knight said, noting Ernst nearly won the U.S. Amateur Public Links, “and he’s playing really well now. He’s got a 70.00 scoring average and had three top-five finishes. He’s right up there with the top players we’ve had.”

Penner added two more top-10 efforts to go along with his Gene Miranda win.

“His game has come around a long way. He’s on the verge of breaking out and really becoming a great player,” Knight said. “And Blake had four top-25s. He just seems to throw in really good rounds when we need them.”

Maruri had three top-15 efforts, contending for the Herb Wimberly title as he finished three shots back in third, and Jonson had two top-25 finishes.

“Almost winning an individual title was a breakout moment for Nico,” Knight said. “And Carl’s done a great job balancing school and golf with being a freshman. You never know how that’s gonna work out.

“Each tournament, somebody really stepped up. Derek was the most consistent, and Kevin getting the win was huge. And between Blake, Carl and Nico, everybody had their moments. They had enough consistency to give us what we needed.”

More so than the individual efforts, Knight was particularly pleased to see his players so quickly become such a cohesive unit.

“There were kind of a lot of unknowns, so to have them come together and get three team wins was really good to see,” Knight said. “We’ve got a long way to go to get where we want, but to get off to such a great start, it creates such a great mental state. That’s something you can’t duplicate without getting those kinds of wins.”

The Rebels began the season ranked in the 30s nationally. Now, they’re up to No. 15.

Knight knows there’s plenty of work to do, though, particularly noting that top-ranked Texas — which won the Jerry Pate by a whopping 20 shots and was the only team under par, at 4-under 836 — is very strong, as are UCLA and Auburn.

And Texas will compete in UNLV’s home tourney, the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, in March.

“We’ll get a good look early in the spring to see where we are, on our home course,” Knight said. “There are a lot of good programs, some really outstanding teams across the country. But Texas is at the top of everybody’s list to contend for the national championship. We hope we get into that conversation by the time the postseason comes.”

Looking beyond that to next year, the Rebels again will just reload. Earlier this month, UNLV unveiled its 2012-’13 recruiting class, and it’s sterling.

On top is Coronado High School senior A.J. McInerney, ranked seventh in the nation by the American Junior Golf Association. Knight also landed highly touted Canadian and 2010 world junior champion Adam Svensson; Arbor View standout Zane Thomas, who won the AJGA Las Vegas Junior Open in 2010; and James Fuetz, a prep standout who won the Washington state title in 2010.

“This is just a really solid recruiting class, and we’re excited about that,” Knight said. “With Derek graduating, and these guys coming in to join our current guys, that should be a heck of a mix.”