Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Knight likes the looks of this year’s Rebels

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1999 | 10:21 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

You have to give Dwaine Knight credit for refusing to play the game.

While most coaches -- in every sport -- whine about the players they have lost, or how hard it is going to be to compete while playing one of the tougher schedules in the country, Knight's assessment of the 1999-2000 Rebels is a breath of fresh air.

Knight lost two players, Chris Berry and Charley Hoffman, who were instrumental in leading the Rebels to the national championship two seasons ago and to five wins and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA finals last season.

But Knight is overflowing with optimism as the Rebels prepare for next weekend's season opener in the Ping Preview Invitational in Auburn, Alabama.

"I'm very excited about our team," Knight said as his players began qualifying Tuesday to determine which five will represent UNLV in the Preview.

"It's going to be a very interesting year. I'm really comfortable with the fact that we're going to be a major player again right away. We replaced two major players in Chris Berry and Charley Hoffman but I think we're really going to surprise a lot of people this year with the quality and depth we have on our team."

It may be difficult for the UNLV golf program to surprise anybody after establishing itself as one of the elite programs in the country this decade, finishing the past four seasons ranked second, second, first and second in the final polls.

So it actually came as welcome news to Knight that the Rebels were ranked second when the preseason MasterCard collegiate poll was released last week.

"In the past, we would lose great players and we would be out of the top 10 immediately," Knight said. "Now it seems like we replace awesome players, All-Americans, and here we are again, right at the top of the list. I think that shows a lot of respect for our program and the type of players that are here."

And Knight can't be happier about the caliber of players he has this season, led by returning starters Jeremy Anderson, Michael Kirk, Adam Scott and Scott Lander and bolstered by highly touted incoming freshmen Calvin Kupeyan from Canada and Alexander Strandberg from Sweden.

Throw sophomores Scott Wingfield, Christian Thornley and Brett Foulds and redshirt freshmen Brien Davis, Tyler Mays and Robert Sul into the mix, and Knight said he sees the potential for an outstanding team.

"I think we've got some great depth and I think our (qualifying tournaments) are going to be very competitive," Knight said. "I think our depth, each year, has consistently gotten better.

"I thought last year we really had six outstanding players for five spots and behind them we had players that certainly could play at a lot of places and I think their games are better this year. What we have been able to do is develop players, which has been a real key to our success."

* FRYATT ON ROLL: Former UNLV All-American Edward Fryatt continued his strong play on the Nike Tour with a tie for fourth place at last weekend's Nike Utah Classic in Sandy, Utah.

Fryatt earned $21,563 for his ninth top-10 finish in 23 starts this season and is fourth on the Nike Tour money list with $163,186 with six events remaining. The top 15 on the final money list earn their PGA Tour cards in 2000.

* KEEVER RANKED: Former Cimarron-Memorial High standout Stephanie Keever of Stanford is ranked sixth in the preseason edition of the MasterCard Division I collegiate women's golf rankings. Stanford is ranked ninth in the women's team poll.

In the men's poll, UNLV is ranked second while Rebels Michael Kirk (seventh), Jeremy Anderson (11th) and Adam Scott (24th) are rated in the top 25 in the individual rankings.

* NEW TOURNAMENT: Tiger Woods' charitable foundation, in conjunction with the Williams Companies, will host a $3.5 million tournament in Arizona for 12 of the top men's golfers to close out the year.

The tournament, called the Williams World Challenge, will be open to the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings and two others chosen by Woods' foundation.

Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale will be the host course for the tournament, which will be played Dec. 29 and 30 and Jan. 1 and 2. A celebrity pro-am will be played Dec. 31. The final two rounds will be broadcast by NBC.

The tournament winner will take home $1 million, while the last-place finisher is assured $120,000.

The Tiger Woods Foundation will be the primary charitable beneficiary of the tournament, while the Target House at St. Jude's Hospital will also receive some of the proceeds.

* LVI VOLUNTEERS: The Las Vegas Invitational is seeking volunteers to assist in a variety of areas, including tournament scoring, with this year's event. Call Michele at 242-3008 for additional information.