COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The NM State men's golf program opens the 2021-22 season Friday, when they head to the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by the Air Force Academy and the Eisenhower Golf Course.

The three-day, 54-hole event features 21-teams from conferences like the A-10, Big West, C-USA, Mountain West, PAC-12 and the WAC. Action on Friday and Saturday begins at 8:30 a.m. while the final round Sunday begins at 7:15 a.m. The Aggies are one of three teams in the field this weekend to have made the 2021 NCAA Tournament, joining Denver and Nevada. Lucas Carper of UC Davis made the 2021 NCAA Tournament as an individual participant.  

NM State's tee-times for the first two rounds can be found below, and fans can follow all the action live on Golf Stat.

Colorado (PAC-12) is the defending champion, as the Buffaloes shot a team score of 854 (-10) to win the 2019 tournament. The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.

THE FIELD (Golf Stat 2021 Final Rankings):
Air Force (232)
Army (261)
Cal State Northridge (149)
Colorado (78)
Denver (87)
George Washington (195)
Nevada (64)
NM State (144)
Northern Colorado (212)
Northern Iowa (254)
San Jose State (108)
Southern Illinois (166)
SIU-Edwardsville (177)
Southern Utah (133)
UC Davis (91)
UNLV (69)
Utah State (128)
Utah Valley (153)
UTEP (150)
Weber State (184)
Wyoming (125)

THE LINEUP:
#1 Aidan Thomas
#2 Garrison Smith
#3 Scott Rescigno 
#4 Alvaro Morales
#5 Cooper Sears

THE COURSE:
This weekend's Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational will be played on the Eisenhower Golf Club Blue Course. A par-72, the course features five holes over 500 yards and a pair of 610 yard par-fives. The front 9 sits at 3,744 yards while the back 9 is longer, coming in at 3,797 yards.   

TEE TIMES:
Round One (Friday, September 10):
10:10   Cooper Sears
10:20   Alvaro Morales
10:30   Scott Rescigno
10:40   Garrison Smith
10:50   Aidan Thomas

Round Two (Saturday, September 11):
8:30     Cooper Sears
8:40     Alvaro Morales
8:50     Scott Rescingo
9:00     Garrison Smith
9:10     Aidan Thomas

SCOUTING THE AGGIES:
The NM State men's golf program looks to build on a successful 2020-21 season that saw the Aggies bring home the programs first WAC Tournament title since 2015.

Led by 2021 WAC Coach of the Year Mike Dirks, the Aggies will be led by Aidan Thomas and Garrison Smith in 2021-22. The WAC Freshman of the Year, Thomas returns for his third season with the Crimson and White, while Second Team All-WAC selection Garrison Smith will look to build on his strong season last season, that included a career-best round of 64 at the 2021 WAC Championships.

Smith fired an Aggie best 210 (-6) for the tournament finishing third. He and Thomas are joined in the lineup this weekend by Middle Tennessee graduate transfer Cooper Sears, Scott Rescigno and Alvaro Morales. Rescigno and Morales played 18 and 15 rounds respectively a season ago.

A native of Spain, Morales fired an average score of 75.9 in 2020-21, while Rescigno averaged 77.3. A former All-CUSA Second Team selection, Sears fired an average score of 76.1 a season ago.

UP NEXT:
The Aggies return to action on Sept. 20-21 for the Lone Star Invitational hosted by UTSA. The two-day event will be held at TPC San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas.