Oct. 28, 2008

LAS CRUCES, N.M.--In its final event of the fall season, Miami University's golf team finished in a sixth-place tie among the 18-team field at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. The RedHawks finished in a tie with Nevada and Washington State, just one stroke behind fifth-place Denver and two strokes behind fourth-place Idaho.

"Today's a hard one," said head coach Casey Lubahn. "I think we are all disappointed with our start today. We had a game plan that we were all involved with putting together, and we didn't follow it. We were timid early on and when we finally woke up, we were already 8-10 shots behind where we should be. Not playing your best happens. Not following the game plan is unacceptable, which falls on me."

"We were in the hunt again in this tournament," continued Lubahn. "It's not like we are going out and just finishing in the middle of the pack. We are in the hunt for a top finish every time out. As we mature, we will learn how to win. Winning is a process."

Firing a 70 in the final round, senior Ben Bastel jumped from a 26th-place tie to a tie for 17th place at three-over par 216.

"It was good to see Ben find his consistency and have consistency in his ball-striking," added Lubahn.

Sophomore Nathan Sutherland, who carded a 69 in the first round, shot 73 in the final round to finish in a tie for 23rd place at four-over par 217.

After a pair of 72s in the opening rounds, senior Ben Wood shot a 76 on the final day to tie for 36th place at seven-over par 220. Senior Aaron Crist, who had carded 73 in both the first and second rounds, also shot a 76 in the final round to finish in a tie for 43rd place at nine-over par 222.

Senior Anthony Cordes tied for 76th place at 16-over par 229.

Shooting 10-under as a team on the final day, host New Mexico State catapulted itself into first place, winning the tournament by an eight-stroke margin over second-place Kansas State. New Mexico State's Travis Reid captured individual medalist honors, shooting five-under par 208 for the tournament. Reid fired a 66 in the final round of the event.

"It was decent semester. It could have been great, but it turned out decent," said Lubahn. "We need to mature very quickly as a team. All the talent is here to win championships. We need to start learning the lessons, very simple lessons like not making the same mistakes every week, that will get us over the top. But I'm excited about where we can go starting in the spring."

T17 Ben Bastel          73 73 70 216
T23 Nathan Sutherland   69 75 73 217
T36 Ben Wood            72 72 76 220
T43 Aaron Crist         73 73 76 222
T76 Anthony Cordes      78 74 77 229

1   New Mexico State    296 291 274 861
2   Kansas State        296 288 285 869
3   Cal Poly            299 293 279 871
4   Idaho               294 292 286 872
5   Denver              295 282 296 873
T6  Miami               287 292 295 874
T6  Nevada              297 288 289 874
T6  Washington State    293 291 290 874
9   Colorado            298 294 283 875
T10 Iowa State          300 295 282 877
T10 Nebraska            297 292 288 877
T12 Air Force           295 301 283 879
T12 Akron               298 293 288 879
T14 Texas El Paso       307 296 283 886
T14 Utah                304 290 292 886
16  Weber State         296 296 298 890
17  Ball State          304 297 292 893
18  Northern Colorado   302 304 299 905

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