SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will make its NCAA postseason debut as a team at the Kingston Springs Regional, which will be held Monday-Wednesday, May 17-19, at the Golf Club of Tennessee (par 71/7,074 yards).
Under the direction of 13th-year head coach John Knauer, the Roadrunners are the No. 9 seed and will line up against 12 other squads in the three-day, 54-hole, stroke-play event. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site (six individuals total) will advance to the national championship on May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
2021 NCAA Kingston Springs Regional Field
1. Clemson
2. NC State
3. Vanderbilt
4. Arkansas
5. San Diego State
6. Virginia
7. Charlotte
8. Kent State
9. UTSA
10. Houston
11. Loyola (Md.)
12. UConn
13. Iona
UTSA will travel a lineup of first-team All-Conference USA performer Chad Sewell, second-team all-league selection Christian Fanfelle, Hunter Bott, Collin Clark and Michael Rome, along with alternate Adam House, to Tennessee.
The Roadrunners have finished in the top five at three tournaments this season, including a runner-up finish at the Trinity Forest Invitational on March 7-9 in Dallas. After finishing ahead of three ranked teams at that event and five —including then-top-ranked Arizona — at the Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio the week prior, UTSA debuted at No. 26 in the Golfstat rankings on March 10 and stayed in the top 50 through the end of April before falling to No. 52 in the May 5 report.
This will mark the first time UTSA has advanced to the NCAA postseason as a team, while it will be the fifth time the Roadrunners are represented at a regional, as Magnus Dohlvik (1998), Mike Mezei (2004) and Zander Lozano (2017, '18) all were individual qualifiers. UTSA's at-large selection is just the third by any sport in school history, joining the women's golf program, which earned its second at-large bid this year in addition to its first in 2013.
UTSA's NCAA postseason history
UTSA is making its NCAA postseason debut as a team this week at the Kingston Springs Regional. This will mark the fifth time the Roadrunners have been represented in the NCAA postseason, as three players have qualified for regionals as individuals four times.
Magnus Dohlvik became the first Roadrunner to advance to the NCAA postseason when he qualified for the 1998 South Central Regional hosted by UTSA at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio. He tied for 75th place with a 223 (76-73-74), the best NCAA 54-hole scorecard in program history.
Mike Mezei qualified for the 2004 Central Regional in West Lafayette, Ind., finishing in a tie for 91st with a 237 (83-74-80).
Zander Lozano earned back-to-back NCAA berths in his final two seasons as a Roadrunner. In 2017 at the Baton Rouge Regional, he fired a 224 (77-73-74) to grab a share of 24th, the best NCAA finish in school annals. The following year, Lozano tied for 55th with a 226 (76-73-77) at the Bryan Regional.
UTSA's NCAA Regional Individual Finishes
Year | Player | Location | Finish (Score)
1998 | Magnus Dohlvik | San Antonio, Texas | T-75th (76-73-74—223)
2004 | Mike Mezei | West Lafayette, Ind. | T-91st (83-74-80—237)
2017 | Zander Lozano | Baton Rouge, La. | T-24th (77-73-74—224)
2018 | Zander Lozano | Bryan, Texas | T-55th (76-73-77—226)
Roadrunners in the rankings
UTSA has been a mainstay of the Golfstat Top 50 Rankings for much of the 2021 season. The Roadrunners debuted at No. 26 on March 10 after strong showings in back-to-back tournaments. UTSA placed eighth and finished ahead of five ranked teams, including then-top-ranked Arizona, at the Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio, one of the top annual collegiate events in the country. The following week, the Roadrunners took second place at the Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas, placing ahead of three top-50 squads. UTSA stayed in the top 50 through the end of April before falling to its current ranking of No. 52 on May 5.
Pair of Roadrunners named all-conference
A pair of Roadrunners were named All-Conference USA, as Chad Sewell was named first-team all-conference and Christian Fanfelle earned a spot on the second team.
The first-team selection was the first all-conference award for Sewell, who leads the Roadrunners with a 72.78 stroke average this season. The senior from Conroe owns four top-20 finishes including a top 10 that came when he fired a 1-over-par 214 (73-70-71) to tie for seventh place and lead UTSA to a runner-up team showing at the Trinity Forest Invitational. He earned C-USA Golfer of the Week honors for that performance.
Sewell opened the 2021 campaign by grabbing a share of 15th with a 220 (75-71-74) at the Border Olympics before carding a 218 (77-70-71) for 17th at the Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio. He was the top Roadrunner at the C-USA Championship, placing 12th with a 2-under 214 (68-74-72) in his last outing.
Fanfelle stands second on the squad with a 73.33 scoring average and he has logged five top-25 finishes in six events in 2021. The junior from San Antonio fired a 2-under 214 (71-75-68) to tie for 16th at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic and he turned in his top finish of 13th after posting a 217 (77-69-71) at the Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio.
Fanfelle opened the year by claiming a share of 25th at the Border Olympics after carding a 223 (78-74-71). He tied for 23rd with a 217 (73-72-72) at the C-USA Championship last week. This marks the third conference postseason award for Fanfelle, as he was a third-team selection a year ago after making the C-USA All-Freshman Team in 2018-19.
With this year's pair of accolades, UTSA now has earned 39 all-conference certificates in its history, including 12 under 13th-year head coach John Knauer.
All-Texas roster
UTSA's nine-man roster is made up of all natives of the state of Texas. Four Roadrunners call the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex home, a pair apiece hail from Austin and the Greater Houston Area, while one is from San Antonio. The last time a non-Texas native appeared on the program's roster was in 2017-18 with Alabama product Reynolds Carl.
2020-21 UTSA Roster
Name Hometown
Hunter Bott Montgomery, Texas
Collin Clark Mansfield, Texas
Christian Fanfelle San Antonio, Texas
Reed Foster McKinney, Texas
David Harrison Trophy Club, Texas
Adam House Rockwall, Texas
Michael Rome Austin, Texas
Chad Sewell Conroe, Texas
Jack Wehman Austin, Texas
Super senior duo
UTSA boasts its own "super senior" duo in Collin Clark and Adam House. Both players were fourth-year seniors last year, but they each took advantage of the NCAA spring sports waiver that allowed an extra year of eligibility for student-athletes who saw their 2020 season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clark has played in all six events this season and owns a 74.67 stroke average and three top-25 finishes. The Mansfield native and two-time Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar already has earned his bachelor's and master's degree in accounting. A four-time C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member, he is wrapping up his third term as president of UTSA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The 2018-19 C-USA co-Men's Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year is the lone current Roadrunner with an individual title on his resumé, as he won the 2019 Bayou City Collegiate Classic with a 5-under-par 211 (70-68-73).
House has appeared in 38 tournaments during his UTSA career, including a pair of events this season. The Rockwall native has logged a 73.5 scoring average and has placed in the top 35 in both outings. A C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll selection who earned his bachelor's degree in communication this spring, he owns seven career top-20 finishes.
Degree in hand
Four Roadrunners already have earned their undergraduate degrees from UTSA. Collin Clark received his bachelor's degree in accounting in May 2019 and completed coursework for his master's in accountancy this spring, while Christian Fanfelle (accounting), Adam House (communication) and Chad Sewell (real estate finance and development) all earned their bachelor's degree this semester.
Knauer in 13th year at helm
UTSA head coach John Knauer is in his 13th year at the helm of the men's golf program. The College Station native has guided the Roadrunners to four tournament titles, 34 top-five showings, 99 top-10 finishes, 12 all-conference selections, nine Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar awards and three league all-academic honorees. The program also has received four straight NCAA Public Recognition Awards for posting an Academic Progress Rate among the top 10 percent nationally within the sport, as UTSA has recorded a perfect score of 1,000 during each of the last four reporting periods.
While this is the first NCAA appearance for UTSA as a team, Knauer is no stranger to the postseason. He guided former Roadrunners standout Zander Lozano to back-to-back regionals in 2017 and '18. During a 10-year tenure as an assistant coach at Arizona, he helped the Wildcats advance to the NCAA Championships each season, winning a pair of regional titles in the process. He also helped Texas A&M to a regional crown in 1998 while serving as assistant coach.
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