Sept. 21, 2003

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

The Wyoming Cowboys placed ninth out of 18 teams at the Air Force Academy Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational that concluded on Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colo. UW shot a final round of 11-over par 299, and posted a 54-hole total of 889 (+25) for the tournament. The Cowboys' top individual finisher was sophomore Niel King, who fired a career low round of three-under par 69 for the final 18 holes. King concluded the tournament with a one-under par total of 215.

All three of King's rounds for the tournament bettered his previous career best round of 74 that he shot a year ago as a freshman. King posted scores of 73, 73 and 69 in the Falcon Invitational last weekend. His teammate, senior Jason Aichele, was Wyoming's next highest finisher, tying for 29th with a three-round score of six-over par 222.

Texas-San Antonio won the team title, firing a five-under par total of 859 for the tournament. They were led by Mike Mezei, who won individual honors with a nine-under par 207.

"Niel (King) had a great week," said UW men's golf coach Joe Jensen. "He played with a lot of confidence and just kept getting better the more he played. It is great to see a young player have success like that. Jason (Aichele) also finished with a nice tournament. Jason played consistently all week.

"As a team, we didn't get the kind of balance we were hoping for from the top to the bottom of our lineup, but we had some positives this week that we can build on for our next tournament in Denver later this month."

The Air Force tournament was played at the Eisenhower Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Eisenhower Blue Course measured 7,301 yards and played to a par of 72.

Wyoming's next competition will be the Denver Ron Moore Classic in Denver on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 29-30.

Wyoming Results                        Class  Score               Place








Niel King (Gillette, Wyo.)             So.    73-73-69=215 (-1)   Tie 7th
Jason Aichele (Richland, Wash.)        Sr.    72-75-75=222 (+6)   Tie 29th
Jeff Franks (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) Fr.    74-74-77=225 (+9)   Tie 45th
Matthew Brunk (Ft. Collins, Colo.)     Jr.    71-78-78=227 (+11)  Tie 51st
Eric Baily (Crofton, Neb.)             So.    75-78-78=231 (+15)  Tie 69th

Wyoming Players Competing as Individuals

Jonathan Shuss (Scottsdale, Ariz.)     Jr.    73-78-80=231 (+15)  Tie 69th

Team Standings

1.    Texas-San Antonio          859 (-5)
2.    Utah                       862 (-2)
3.    New Mexico JV              870 (+6)
4.    Denver                     879 (+15)
5.    Air Force                  881 (+17)
6.    Grand Canyon               883 (+19)
      Boise State                883 (+19)
8.    Idaho                      884 (+20)
9.    Wyoming                    889 (+25)
10.   Weber State                890 (+26)
11.   Southern Utah              891 (+27)
12.   Air Force JV               892 (+28)
13.   Portland                   896 (+32)
14.   Northern Colorado          902 (+38)
15.   Colorado-Colorado Springs  907 (+43)
16.   Gonzaga                    915 (+51)
      Southern Colorado          915 (+51)
18.   San Diego                  922 (+58)