April 26, 2002

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Kansas State men's golf team will be competing in the 2002 Big 12 Conference Men's Golf Championships April 29-30 at Prairie Dunes Golf & Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. The championship will be played at Prairie Dunes' par-70, 6,598-yard course for the sixth consecutive year.

The Wildcats enter the tournament after completing their spring season with two solid tournaments that included a third-place finish at the competitivie Stevinson Ranch Invitational (3/25-26/02) and a team victory at their host event of the spring, the Wildcat Invitational (4/14/02).

"I would like to see our team go out and put together three solid rounds much like we did last month at Stevinson Ranch," said head coach Tim Norris. "I don't have a place in mind. I just would like them to play to their talent level - no more and no less."

Experience will be a factor for the Wildcats as they bring the exact same lineup as last year to the championship. Competing for K-State will be seniors Bryan Milberger and Matt Williams, and sophomores, A.J. Elgert, Aaron Watkins, and Bryan Schweizer. Norris said the players know they have to respect the course and par is a great score on any hole there.

In last year's tournament, the Wildcats fired scores of 328--307-306=941 to finish in eighth place. It was the team's best showing at the Big 12 Championships since 1997, the league's inaugural season. Elgert was the top indvidual for the Wildcats, carding an 82-74-76=232 to tie for 20th.

Baylor is the defending Big 12 champion after winning its first Big 12 men's golf title in 2001. The Bears' Worth Williams was 2001 medalist with an eight-stroke margin over Oklahoma's Kelsey Cline and Oklahoma State's Par Nilsson.

The Wildcats will tee off hole no. 1 at 8:50 a.m. with playing partners Missouri and Texas Tech. For results of the Big 12 Men's Golf Championships, please visit the Big 12 web site at www.Big12Sports.com or the University of Texas web site at www.TexasSports.com.