DALLAS — Bolstered by a trio of top-20 finishes, the UTSA men's golf team finished second at the Trinity Forest Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at Trinity Forest Golf Club (par 71/7,330 yards).
Chad Sewell tied for seventh, Collin Clark finished in a tie for 17th and Christian Fanfelle ended up with a share of 20th to help lead the Roadrunners to a runner-up showing in the 15-team field that included four top-50 squads. A day after climbing three spots up the leaderboard into second place, UTSA posted a 3-under-par 281 to end up at 10-over 862 (291-290-281), seven shots ahead of third-place Little Rock and nine strokes in front of No. 38 TCU. The Roadrunners also finished 12 shots better than 37th-ranked Louisville (874) and 17 ahead of No. 18 North Texas (879) only one week after beating five ranked teams, including top-ranked Arizona, at the Cabo Collegiate TPC San Antonio.
"That was just a fantastic finish by our guys today," head coach john Knauer said. "The last four holes on this course are so hard and the wind was blowing hard today, but they stepped up when we needed it most. This was another quality week and should move us up in the rankings when it comes out later tonight."
Sewell was the top UTSA finisher for the second time in three tournaments this season, ending up in a four-way tie for seventh at 1-over 214 to register his top finish of the year and fifth career top 10. After opening with a 73-70—143 over the first two days, the senior from Conroe fired an even-par 71 on Tuesday on the strength of four birdies, including three in a row on Nos. 12-14. Sewell paced the Roadrunners with 11 birdies for the week, the fourth-best total in the field.
Clark carded UTSA's low round of the day and event with a 2-under 69 that was highlighted by four birdies, three as part of a 1-under 34 on the back nine. The senior from Mansfield, who led UTSA and ranked second among all players with 37 pars, vaulted all the way from 32nd to a tie for 17th at 5-over 218 (72-77-69), his best finish of the year and 10th career top-20 showing.
Fanfelle recorded a 1-under 70 — UTSA's second-best round of the final day — to move into a share of 20th at 6-over 219. The junior from San Antonio bounced back from a 78 on Sunday with a 71 yesterday before using a pair of birdies and an eagle on the 570-yard, par-5 seventh en route to his fourth round below par this season.
Hunter Bott was one shot behind Fanfelle in a tie for 26th at 7-over 220 (73-76-71). The sophomore from Montgomery wrote down a trio of birdies on the front side to help post an even-par round on Tuesday.
Michael Rome rounded out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 54th (73-73-81—227).
No. 13 and host SMU (-10) captured the team title while Little Rock's Anton Albers (-7) claimed individual medalist honors.
The Roadrunners will return to the course next Monday-Tuesday, March 15-16, when they travel to Lafayette, La., for the Louisiana Classics.
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