Nov. 3, 2004

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The University of Houston golf team wraps up its 2004 fall season this week when it competes at the Del Walker Intercollegiate on Thursday.

The 54-hole event, which is played on the 6,631-yard, par-71 course at Virginia Country Club, begins with the first round at 9:08 a.m. (CST), Thursday. The second round is scheduled to begin later in the day around 1:45 p.m. (CST).

The Cougars join a competitive field at the tournament, including host Long Beach State, UC Irvine, Arizona JV, Denver, San Jose State, Texas-San Antonio, New Mexico State, Cal State Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, Lamar and North Texas.

Sophomore Ricky Romano, who was a member of the 2004 Conference USA All-Freshmen Team, leads the Cougars into the tournament after posting a second-place finish at the Louisiana Tech/Squire Creek Intercollegiate Invitational on Oct. 18-19.

It marked the fourth straight tournament that Romano finished among the Cougars' Top Two individual leaders. With his even-par 216, the Murietta, Calif., native also jumped into the team lead with a 73.1 scoring average.

Junior captain Zach Mowbray and fellow junior Pablo Acuna are tied for second on the team with 73.7 scoring averages. Acuna earned his second Top-10 individual finish of the year in the Cougars' last tournament with a sixth-place showing.

Other Cougars scheduled to compete are senior Jordan Hasbrouck and sophomore Jeremy Reed, who will be making his UH debut after transferring from Florida A&M.

The tournament concludes with the final round slated to begin at 9:08 a.m. (CST) Friday.