Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Rebuilding process begins for UNLV

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 1997 | 8:18 a.m.

There won't be any expectations of national championships or No. 1 rankings when the UNLV golf team opens its season Friday at the William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.

After losing their top player, Ted Oh, to the professional ranks and two other starters to graduation, the Rebels truly are in the midst of a rebuilding year.

But that seems to be just fine with Rebels head coach Dwaine Knight.

"I'm kind of excited about it -- it's kind of like a breath of fresh air in a way," Knight said.

"There is a lot of uncertainty and I think I'll be a lot more involved with coaching again, trying to shape the team, than I've had to do the last couple of years because we had such outstanding players."

Despite losing three solid players in Oh, Mike Ruiz and Gilberto Morales, UNLV is ranked fifth in the nation in one preseason poll.

Knight will see the return of only two players, senior Bill Lunde and sophomore Jeremy Anderson, who started for the Rebels during last season's playoffs. He will fill the remainder of the starting five from a group that includes senior Chris Berry; junior-college transfer Morten Vildhoj; juniors Daron Dorsey and Charley Hoffman; sophomore Alan Creighton; medical redshirt freshman Scott Lander; and freshmen Scott Wingfield and Christian Thornley.

Knight is counting on at least one of those players stepping up and helping fill the void left by Oh's departure.

"A couple of people come to mind very quickly and one would be, of course, Charley Hoffman," Knight said. "We feel like he might have a shot at stepping in there and, if he reaches his potential, I think we'll be back in very good shape.

"Chris Berry is another one who can certainly step up and be a factor. Scott Lander did not play for us last year after he hurt himself ... and those are the natural candidates that come to mind when I think of people stepping up because they all have played and kind of know the ropes as far as college golf goes."

As he did much of last season, Knight said he again will juggle his lineup until he finds the right combination of players that can return UNLV to the NCAA Championships for the ninth consecutive year.

"This is going to be a very untested team," Knight said. "In the last two years, we've basically lost all of our starters -- Bill became a solid starter last year but over the last two years, going into this season, we don't have any of the players who have been starters.

"With Bill and Jeremy being the anchors of the team, it's going to be wide open. The expectations certainly won't be high like they were last year or the year before but our guys feel like we can be a factor and I feel like we can. It's just a matter of how quickly we can mold together as a team."

Chip shots ...

* AROUND THE GREEN: Lake Mead Christian Academy will hold its second annual golf tournament on Sept. 25 at The Badlands Golf Club. All proceeds raised from the four-player scramble will benefit the academy's building project. Entry fee is $300 per individual. Call 565-5674 for additional information. ... Cashman Cadillac and Cadillac West of Las Vegas are offering discounted tickets to this year's Las Vegas Invitational, good for any day during the tournament, for $10 each or $40 for all five days. Tim Cashman, owner and president of the dealerships, said that $5 from each daily ticket and $15 from each pass will be donated to Shade Tree, the city's only 24-hour emergency shelter for women and children. The discounted tickets are available Monday through Friday at both dealerships. ... The Compaq Regional Putting Championships by Dave Pelz will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Angel Park Golf Club putting course. Approximately 20 local amateur and professional golfers will be attempting to qualify for a spot in the $500,000 Compaq World Putting Championships, to be held Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Orlando, Fla.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in San Antonio this week for the $1.3 million LaCantera Texas Open. David Ogrin is the defending champion. The Golf Channel will televise. ... The Senior PGA Tour is holding the Brickyard Crossing Championship at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds. Jimmy Powell won last year's event. ESPN and ABC will televise. ... The LPGA Tour is in Canton, Mass., for the Welch's Championship. Emilee Klein is the defending champion.