TEXARKANA, Ark. — Led by a 1-under-par round from Michael Rome, the UTSA men's golf team is in a tie for second place after the second round of the Conference USA Championship on Tuesday at Texarkana Country Club (par 72/6,969 yards).
Rome fired a 71 to help the 44th-ranked Roadrunners post a 2-over 290 and settle into a second-place tie with No. 33 Charlotte at 3-under 573 with 18 holes left in the stroke-play portion of the tournament. The top four teams in the standings after the final round will advance to match play.
UTSA, which had the lead entering the day after carding a 5-under 283 on Monday, is two shots behind Middle Tennessee, which turned in Tuesday's low score with a 13-under 275. North Texas is fourth at 2-under, one stroke in front of No. 38 UAB (575) in the 13-team field that has the top eight squads within eight shots of each other.
Rome posted the Roadrunners' lone red number of the day with his 1-under 71, which matched his season-best round. The Austin Westlake High School product wrote down four birdies, including two as part of a 35 on the front nine, in bouncing back from a 77 in the opening round to move into a tie for 29th at 4-over 148.
Meanwhile, Chad Sewell continues to pace the UTSA lineup, as the Conroe native is in a tie for 11th place at 2-under 142. After opening with a 4-under 68 on Monday, the senior carded a 2-over 74 that included a trio of birdies, upping his tournament total to eight for the week.
Hunter Bott is one shot behind Sewell in a tie for 15th at 1-under 143. The sophomore from Montgomery followed Monday's 2-under 70 with a 73 on Tuesday on the strength of three birdies that came on a four-hole stretch on the front nine, where he shot a 3-under 33.
Christian Fanfelle has a share of 21st at 1-over 145 after 36 holes. The junior from San Antonio used three birdies to post an even-par 72 on Tuesday, a one-shot improvement from his opening 18 holes.
Collin Clark is one shot back of Fanfelle in a tie for 24th at 2-over 146. The Mansfield native registered four birdies during a 74 on Tuesday a day after logging an even-par scorecard.
The Roadrunners will tee off from No. 1 starting at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday for the final round of stroke play. The match play semifinals are scheduled to begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the third round on Wednesday with the two advancing squads slated to face off in the championship match on Thursday.
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