March 8, 2000

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The 25th-ranked Virginia men's golf team heads to Las Vegas, Nev. to compete among the nation's best teams in the third annual Las Vegas Intercollegiate hosted by the Desert Inn & Country Club. The course is 7,193 yards, par 72 and play begins March 10 and concludes March 12.

Formerly known as the Golf Digest Collegiate Invitational, this year's tournament includes a high profile field with all 14 teams having earned a spot in the latest MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, including four of the nation's top five teams and 11 of the top 25. The top five teams in the tournament include top-ranked Georgia Tech, second-ranked Clemson, fourth-ranked Oklahoma State, fifth-ranked Arizona State and sixth-ranked Georgia.

The field boasts six of the nation's top-10 players according to the latest MasterCard Collegiate golf Rankings: top-ranked Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech), number 2 Lucas Glover (Clemson), number three Matt Kuchar (Georgia Tech), number six Jeremy Anderson (UNLV), number seven Charles Howell (Oklahoma State) and number nine John Engler (Clemson).

UNLV won last year's tournament with a four-shot win over Georgia while Texas's David Gossett won individual medalist honors in a playoff with Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech. Virginia won the inaugural event in 1998 led by individual champion James Driscoll.