The Loop

College preview 2006-07: Mountain West

September 08, 2006

Amazing as it seems, the 2006-07 college season is upon us. In the Sept. 1 issue of Golf World magazine, we've put together a package to help you get set for the coming year. Included is a story about what qualities are needed to have a successful golf team (Note: players don't always have to be best friends). Additionally, we have our annual top-50 Players to Watch section for both the men and women, as well as the preseason GW coaches' polls, which have defending NCAA men's champion Oklahoma State and women's champion Duke in the top spots.

To supplement the magazine's preview, though, I'm going to try to break things down further with previews of the top teams in the country by conference. Beginning Sept. 1, I've looked at team rosters and ranked schools within various conference, as well as made predictions on players of the year and who'll advance to NCAA regionals come May.

Here is a schedule of the conference previews to help you find your favorite. Come back and see where we rank your school ... and don't be afraid to comment if you think I'm all wet.

Conference, Date

ACC, Friday, Sept. 1

SEC, Monday, Sept. 4

Big Ten, Tuesday, Sept. 5

Big 12, Wednesday, Sept. 6

Pac-10, Thursday, Sept. 7

Mountain West, Friday, Sept. 8

Conference USA, Monday, Sept. 12

Mid-American Conference, Tuesday, Sept. 13

West Coast Conference, Wednesday, Sept. 14

WAC, Thursday, Sept. 15

Best of the Rest, Friday, Sept. 16

MEN

__2006-07 outlook

Predicted champion:__ BYU

Predicted player of the year: Seung-Su Han, UNLV

NCAA Regional bound: BYU, UNLV, TCU, New Mexico, San Diego State

__2005-06 Accolades

Player of the year:__ Jake Ellison, BYU

Freshman of the year: Seung-su Han, UNLV

Coach of the year: Bruce Brockbank, BYU

Mountain West medalist: Jay Choi, New Mexico

All-Mountain West First team:

Oscar Alvarez, BYU

Jake Ellison, BYU*

Derrick Whiting, Colorado State*

Jay Choi, New Mexico

Aaron Goldberg, San Diego State*

Andres Gonzalez, UNLV

Seung-su Han, UNLV*

Jarred Texter, UNLV*

Dustin Pimm, Utah*

__2006-07 RANKING

__

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NCAAs: 15th        Mountain West: 4th

Events: 14        Wins: 3 (Barona Cup, Arizona Intercollegiate, Cougar Classic)

Top-five finishes: 9

Seniors/starters lost: 3 (Oscar Alvarez, Greg Hunt, Shaun Wuertz)

Opening tournament: William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, Albuquerque, Sept. 22-23

Returning players:

Nick Becker, Sr.—73.1 SA; 2 top-10s in 14 starts

Jake Ellison, Sr.—71.5 SA; 7 top-10s in 14 starts

Nick Killpack, Soph.—73.0 SA; 4 starts

Clay Ogden, Sr.—72.3 SA; 4 top-10s in 13 starts

Daniel Summerhays, Jr.—72.15 SA; 4 top-10s in 13 starts

Incoming freshmen:

Robbie Fillmore, Salt Lake City

Brady Johnson, Mill Bay, British Columbia

Tyson McFarland, Rexburg, Idaho

Brad Nicholson, Chandler, Ariz.

Adam Tebbs, Henderson, Ariz.

__2. UNLV

__[#image: /photos/55ad7050add713143b421895]|||Unlv_logo_3|||Coach: Dwaine Knight, 20th year

NCAAs: MC        Mountain West:  3rd

Events: 12        Wins: 2 (Tucker Invite, Southern Highlands)

Top five: 7

Seniors/starters lost: 3 (Troy Denton, Casey Fowles, Andres Gonzales)

Opening tournament: Inverness Invitational, Toledo, Ohio, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

C.J. Gatto, Jr.—73.3 SA; 2 top-10s in 9 starts

Seung-Su Han, Soph.—73.08 SA; 2 top-10s in 12 starts

San Hunt, Sr.—77.0 SA; 1 start

Brett Kanda, R-Fr.—Redshirted in 2005-06

Ryan Keeney, Sr.—Redshirted in 2005-06

Matt Kinsinger, Jr.—74.28 SA; 2 top-10s in 6 starts; Win at Southern Highlands

Brandon Loska, Jr.—77.3 SA; 1 start

Eddie Olson, Soph.—80.67 SA; 1 start

Jarred Texter, Jr.—72.47 SA; 3 top-10s in 12 starts

Blake Trimble, Soph.—75.0 SA; 1 top-10 in 8 starts

Incoming freshmen/transfer:

Mitchell Fox, Okotoks, Alberta (scheduled to enroll in January 2007)

Roberto Galletti, Jr., Concord, Calif.

Johnny Pinjuv, transfer from USC

__

__[#image: /photos/55ad7050b01eefe207f66ce8]|||Tcu_logo|||Coach: Bill Montigel, 20th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 5th

Events: 12          Wins: 0

Top five: 4

Seniors/starters lost: 1 (Drew Laning)

Opening tournament: Inverness Invitational, Toledo, Ohio, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Franklin Corpening, Jr.—74.07 SA; 2 top-10s in 11 starts

Jon McLean, Soph.—73.73 SA; 2 top-10s in 11 starts

Tom Miles, Soph.—73.96 SA; 1 top-5 in 9 starts

Robby Ormand, Soph.—74.42 SA; 4 starts

James Sacheck, Jr.—74.0 SA; 2 starts

Jess Speirs, Soph.—76.83 SA; 4 starts

Drew Stoltz, Sr.—74.97 SA; 1 top-10 in 10 starts

Incoming freshmen:

Clark Mitzner, McKinney, Texas

Travis Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas

__

Coach:__ Glen Millican, 6th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West:  Win

Events: 12          Wins: 1 (Mountain West)

Top five: 3

Seniors/starters lost: 6 (Mark Anderson, Jay Choi, Jeb Grueneberger, Darrin Hall, Travis Reid, Dave Tiffenberg)

Opening tournament: Inverness Invitational, Toledo, Ohio, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Charlie Beljan, Sr.—74.14 SA; 1 top-10 in 10 starts

Robb Bierbaum, Jr.—75.9 SA; 7 starts

Guillermo Chavez, Soph.—81.33 SA; 1 start

Nick Geyer, Soph.—74.47 SA; 7 starts

Jacob Lestishen, Soph.—76.8 SA; 5 starts (all JV events)

Dan Saltz, Soph.—75.39 SA; 6 starts

Steve Saunders, Soph.—74.33 SA; 1 top-10 in 8 starts

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Tom Carlson, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Sean McNamara, Monte Sereno, Calif.

Kyle Nielsen, Lake Havasu City, Calif.

Andrew Patipaksiri, Cypress, Calif.

Brandon Putnam, Albuquerque, N.M.

Jon Sauer, St. Cloud, Minn. (transfer from Central Missouri State)

Alex Zannes, Albuquerque, N.M.

Coach:__ Ryan Donovan, 4th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 2nd

Events: 13           Wins: 3 (Club Glove, Callaway Golf Invite, Oregon Duck Invite)

Top five: 9

Seniors/starters lost: 2 (Andrew Scott, Josh Warthan)

Opening tournament: Topy Cup, Japan, Sept. 5-7

Returning players (Scoring averages don’t include scores at NCAA regionals):

Chris Cole, Sr.—73.6 SA; 1 start

Aaron Goldberg, Jr.—72.6 SA; 3 top-10s in 13 starts

John Gray, Sr.—73.9 SA; 1 top-10 in 5 starts

Chad Moscovic, Jr.—75.1 SA; 5 starts

David Palm, Jr.—73.2 SA; 2 top-10s in 13 starts; Win at Club Glove

Jamie Puterbaugh, Jr.—75.6 SA; 3 starts

Jason Puterbaugh, Sr.—77.5 SA; 3 starts

Cory Segall, Sr.—72.8 SA; 2 top-10s in 6 starts

Michael Wynn, Soph.—Did not play in 2005-06

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Ryan Citarella, transfer from Santiago Canyon CC

Joacim Hultman, Sweden

Jerry Porras, Mexico

Adam Porzak, transfer from Pepperdine

__

Coach:__ Jamie Bermel, 8th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 6th

Events: 12           Wins: 0

Top five: 4

Seniors/starters lost: 2 (Kevin McAlpine, Nate Pettitt)

Opening tournament: Falcon Invitational, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 9-10

Returning players:

Riley Arp, R-Fr.—Redshirted in 2005-06

Zen Brown, Soph.—1 top-10 in 12 starts

Herve Gevers, Soph.—5 starts

Adam Nelson, Jr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Praneeth Perera, Soph.—Did not play in 2005-06

Chase Watkins, Jr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Aaron Weston, Sr.—10 starts

Derrick Whiting, Sr.—2 top-10s in 13 starts; Win at Rice Intercollegiate

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Bryce Hanstad, Alexandria, Minn.

Dustin Morris, Crosby, Texas

Tyler Whiting, Alexandria, Minn.

__7. UTAH

Coach:__ Randall McCracken, 3rd year

NCAAs: DNP       __ Mountain West:__ 7th

__Events:__13          Wins: 0

__Top five:__3

Seniors/starters lost: 3 (Mike Branca, Nick Micek, Steve Newren)

Opening tournament: Falcon Invitational, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 9-10

Returning players:

Steven Broker, Jr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Nick Carter, Soph.—76.64 SA; 4 starts

Chance Cota, Soph.—76.34 SA; 11 starts

Chris Gresh, Soph.—73.71 SA; 1 top-5 in 13 starts

Nicholas Larson, Jr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Dustin Pimm, Jr.—71.20 SA; 8 top-10s in 15 starts; Win at Purple & Red

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Derek Adams, Lake Havasu, Ariz.

Christopher Celio-Elia, Goodyear, Ariz.

Jeff Kitches, Salt Lake City

__8. AIR FORCE

Coach:__ George Koury, 5th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 9th

Events: 13           Wins: 2 (Falcon Invitational, Service Academy Classic)

Top five: 2

Seniors/starters lost: 2 (Andy Davis, Scott Redmon)

Opening tournament: Falcon Invitational, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 9-10

Returning players (includes JV starts):

Chad Follett, Sr.—77.25 SA; 7 starts

Jared Freeman, Jr.—78.88 SA; 1 top-10 in 6 starts

Andrew Gibson, Soph.—78.35 SA; 1 top-10 in 7 starts

Tyler Goulding, Sr.—72.97 SA; 4 top-10s in 12 starts

Tyler Labrum, Jr.—76.10 SA; 1 top-5 in 10 starts

Shaun O’Bryant, Soph.—78.31 SA; 5 starts

Matt Tanis, Jr.—78.77 SA; 6 starts

Bob Whitney, Jr.—76.57 SA; 1 top-10 in 10 starts

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Lucas Catalano

Peter Guzowski

Josh McFarland

Michael Pak

Jason Shank

Tom Whitney

__

Coach:__ Joe Jensen, 6th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 8th

Events: 11           Wins: 0

Top five: 2

Seniors/starters lost: 4 (Eric Baily, Matthew Brunk, Jonathan Shuss, Dan Silva)

Opening tournament: Falcon Invitational, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 9-10

Returning players:

Jeff Franks, Sr.—73.67 SA; 1 top-10 in 11 starts

Niel King, Sr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Corey Steger, Soph.—75.21 SA; 8 starts

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Max Curnow, Liberty, Mo.

Zac Fisher, transfer from Hutchinson CC

Brandon McCoy, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Ryne Paulson, Casper, Wyo.

Casey Ruff, Buffalo, Wyo.____

WOMEN

__2006-07 outlook

Predicted champion:__ UNLV

Predicted player of the year: Da Sol Chung, UNLV

NCAA Regional bound: UNLV, New Mexico, BYU, TCU

__2005-06 Accolades

Player of the year:__ Da Sol Chung, UNLV

Freshman of the year: Da Sol Chung, UNLV; Mikaela Backstedt, New Mexico

Coach of the year: Missy Ringler, UNLV

Mountain West medalist: Da Sol Chung, UNLV

All-Mountain West First team:

Seema Sadekar, UNLV*

Grace Woo, UNLV

Da Sol Chung, UNLV*

Elena Kurokawa, UNLV

Chelsea Benton, Colorado State*

Mikaela Backstedt, New Mexico*

Py Bengtsson, New Mexico*

__2006-07 RANKING

__

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NCAAs: 22nd        Mountain West:  Won

Events: 11            Wins: 3 (UNLV Spring Invite, BYU Dixie, Mountain West)

Top-five finshes: 6

Seniors/starters lost: 4 (Elena Kurokawa, Erin McGough, Young Pak, Grace Woo)

Opening tournament: Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, Albuquerque, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Allison Chell, Jr.—80.8 SA: 5 starts

Da Sol Chung, Soph.—72.7 SA; 7 top-5s, 9 top-10s in 11 starts; Win at Mountain West

Kasi Lee, Soph.—82.3 SA; 4 starts (transfer from Tulane in mid-season, UNLV stats only)

Nicole McGirr, Soph.—90.0 SA; 2 starts

Seema Sadekar, Sr.—75.0 SA; 2 top-10s in 11 starts; Win at BYU Dixie

Incoming freshmen:

Kristin Ingram, Pasadena, Calif.

Natasha Krishna, New Zealand

Melissa Mabanta, Vancouver, B.C.

__2. NEW MEXICO

__

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NCAAs: DNP          Mountain West: 2nd

Events: 11            Wins: 0

Top five: 7

Seniors/starters lost: 2 (Christine Fernandez, Ashley Rollins)

Opening tournament: Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, Albuquerque, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Mikaela Backstedt, Soph.—73.4 SA; 8 top-10s in 10 starts; Win at Price’s Give Em Five

Py Bengtsson, Soph.—75.82 SA; 2 top-10 in 11 starts

Giselle Claux, Jr.—77.09 SA; 1 top-10 in 11 starts

Morgan Grantham, Soph.—79.0 SA; 8 starts

Alexandra Phelps, Jr.—76.53 SA; 10 starts

Incoming freshmen:

Britney Choy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

Jodi Ewart, England

__3. BYU

__

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NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 3rd

Events: 11          Wins: 2 (Oregon State Invite, Anteater Invite)

Top five: 7

Seniors/starters lost: 0

Opening tournament: Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, Albuquerque, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Ashley Childers, Jr.—79.31 SA: 3 top-10s in 9 starts (including JV); T-1 at Grand Valley

Alexis Edwards, Sr.—77.3 SA; 1 top-10 in 9 starts

Juli Erekson, Jr.—76.79 SA; 5 top-10s in 11 starts

Katie Higham, Jr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Natalia Jimenez, Soph.—80.28 SA; 8 starts (including JV)

Alana Maiello, Soph.—88.82; SA 4 starts (including JV)

Rachel Newren, Sr.—74.54 SA; 7 top-10s in 12 starts; Win at Anteater

Danielle von Arnim, Sr.— 78.1 SA; 1 top-10 in 10 starts

Incoming freshmen:

Shayla Forsey

Camille Gardner

Hannah Summerhays

Daphne Vines

__4. TCU

Coach:__ Angie Ravaioli-Larkin, 13th year

NCAAs: DNP       __ Mountain West:__  4th

Events: 11        __  Wins:__ 1 (Marilynn Smith Sunflower)

Top five: 6

Seniors/starters lost: 1 (Traci Robison)

Opening tournament: Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, Albuquerque, Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Stacey Bieber, Sr.—78.43 SA;1 top-10 in  8 starts

Camille Blackerby, Sr.—75.3 SA; 3 top-10s in 11 starts

Elin Emanuelsson, Sr.—76.57 SA; 1 top-10 in 10 starts

Elisa Gomez, Jr.—85.0 SA; 2 starts

Catherine Matranga, Sr.—75.79 SA; 2 top-10s in 11 starts

Kelli Montigel, Soph.—Did not play in 2005-06

Carrie Morris, Jr.—78.7 SA; 11 starts

Incoming freshmen:

Megan O’Donnell, Houston

Ashley Watkins, Sealy, Texas

Coach:__ Felicia Brown, 5th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 5th

Events: 10           Wins: 3 (La Quinta Inn & Suites Shootout, Lady Aztec, Lady Braveheart)

Top five: 4

Seniors/starters lost: 2 (Heather MacRae, Megan Mulhaupt)

Returning players (includes 1 JV start):

Anna Booth, Jr.—79.8 SA; 2 top-10s in 9 starts

Petra Cole, Soph.—82.0 SA; 1 top-10 in 7 starts

Alana Erlandson, Soph.—79l75 SA: 1 top-10 in 5 starts

Maki Kamimura, Soph.—78.55 SA; 2 top-10s in 10 starts

Jackie Kazarian, Jr.—Did not play in 2005-06

Megan McLeod, Soph.—76.6 SA; 2 top-10s in 4 starts; Win at La Quinta

Jamie Oliver, Sr.—79.95 SA; 7 starts

MacKenzie Swecker, Jr.—82.71 SA; 3 starts

Heather Wilson, Soph.—78.92 SA; 5 starts

Ashley Wood, R-Fr.—Redshirted in 2005-06

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Marcela Campbell, Glendale, Calif.

Kim Carmody, transfer from McLennan CC

Coach:__ Angie Hopkins, 5th year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 6th

Events: 10        __  Wins:__ 0

Top five: 1

Seniors/starters lost: 3 (Kelly Brotherton, Krystina Gillenwater, Karen Wanersdorfer)

Opening tournament: Ptarmigan/Ram Fall Classic, Fort Collins, Colo., Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Chelsea Benton, Jr.—75.13 SA; 3 top-10s in 10 starts

Megan Chapman, Jr.—77.45 SA; 10 starts

Stefanie Ferguson, Soph.—79.93 SA; 10 starts

Natalie Stone, R-Fr.—Redshirted in 2005-06

Amber Ward, Sr.—79.31 SA; 9 starts

Incoming freshmen/transfers:

Kasey Claussen, Fort Collins, Colo.

Mary Ellen Herring, transfer from Wofford

__

Coach:__ Josey Stender, 2nd year

NCAAs: DNP        Mountain West: 7th

Events: 11        __   Wins:__ 0

Top five: 2

Seniors/starters lost: 1 (Whitney Hernandez)

Opening tournament: Ptarmigan/Ram Fall Classic, Fort Collins, Colo., Sept. 11-12

Returning players:

Kaelee Aegerter, Jr.—85.0 SA; 5 starts

Lindsay Bauknecht, Jr.—82.96 SA; 9 starts

Michelle Camaione, Sr.—86.72 SA; 7 starts

Mikala Henzlik, Soph.—80.77 SA; 1 top-5 in 11 starts

Laura Mengelkamp, Jr.—77.53 SA; 4 top-10s in 11 starts

Kayla Morrison, Sr.—85.75 SA; 3 starts

Incoming freshmen:

Sarah Fogerty, San Diego

Johnna Jeffries, Grand Island, Neb.

Ashlee Lansang, Rock Springs, Wyo.

Jonelle Martinez, Santa Fe, N.M.