May 10, 2011

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

The Mountain West announced its 2010-11 Men's Golf All-Conference team and individual awards today as selected by the nine head coaches. UNLV junior Derek Ernst was selected as MW Golfer of the Year, while Blake Biddle of UNLV was named MW Freshman of the Year. MW Coach of the Year honors went to Ryan Donovan of San Diego State.

Ernst currently ranks 62nd nationally, according to the most recent GolfWeek.com standings, and won the 2011 Mountain West Men's Golf individual title on May 7. He is currently fourth in the league with a 71.79 stroke average. He has recorded 11 top-12 finishes this season, including three top-five performances. Ernst is the fourth UNLV golfer to garner the MW's top award, and second since Ryan Moore to earn the honor in back-to-back years. Moore earned the honor in 2003-04 and 2004-05. The Rebels' Jeremy Anderson earned the award in the first year of the league in 1999-2000.

Biddle was selected as the freshman of the year after posting a 72.91 stroke average in 2010-11. He has six top-20 finishes on the year and is the fifth UNLV golfer to capture MW Freshman of the Year honors in league history. James Oh was named freshman of the year in 2000-01, Ryan Moore in 2001-02, Jarred Texter in 2004-05 and Seung-su Han in 2005-06.

Donovan led San Diego State to six team titles this season, including a two-stroke victory at last week's Mountain West Men's Golf Championship. He is the first Aztec head coach to earn the award.

The all-Conference team is made up of 10 individuals. For the third consecutive year, TCU's Johan de Beer and UNLV's Derek Ernst have earned all-league honors.

Golfer of the Year
Derek Ernst, Jr., UNLV

Freshman of the Year
Blake Biddle, UNLV

Coach of the Year
Ryan Donovan, San Diego State

All-Conference Team
Zac Blair, So., BYU
Ryan Peterson, Sr., Colorado State
Travis Ross, Sr., New Mexico
Alex Kang, Jr., San Diego State
J.J. Spaun, Jr., San Diego State
Johan de Beer, Jr., TCU
Tom Hoge, Sr., TCU
Derek Ernst, Jr., UNLV
Kevin Penner, So., UNLV
Gabe Maier, Sr., Wyoming

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