KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. — Chad Sewell tied for 39th place to lead the UTSA men's golf team to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional, which wrapped up on Wednesday at the Golf Club of Tennessee (par 71/7,107 yards).
Making their NCAA postseason debut as a team, the ninth-seeded Roadrunners carded an 876 that was capped by their best round of the week on Wednesday with a 5-over-par 289. UTSA's 24-over total was 17 shots ahead of No. 11 seed Loyola (Md.), 19 strokes in front of 12th-seeded UConn and 57 better than No. 13 Iona.
Sewell led the UTSA lineup with a 5-over 218 to grab a share of 39th, the second-best individual finish in program history behind Zander Lozano's tie for 24th in 2017. After opening with an even-par 71 on Monday, the first-team all-conference selection carded a 75 in the second round before closing with a 72 today. The senior from Conroe posted a trio of birdies on his final scorecard and finished with nine for the week, tied for the most birdies on the team.
Playing in his 41st and final tournament as a Roadrunner, Collin Clark finished in a tie for 48th at 8-over 221. The Mansfield native posted a pair of 75s sandwiched around an even-par 71 on Tuesday, and the super senior matched Sewell with a team-best nine birdies this week, including two in his final round.
Michael Rome was one shot behind Clark in a tie for 51st at 9-over 222. The Austin Westlake High School product wrote down a pair of birdies as part of a 74 on Wednesday after opening with a 75-73—148 for the first 36 holes. He paced the Roadrunners with 35 pars and made six birdies during the event.
Hunter Bott posted the team's lone eagle of the week with a three on the 580-yard, par-5 17th hole during his final round. The sophomore from Montgomery turned in his second 2-over 73 of the tournament on Wednesday and he finished with a share of 54th at 11-over 224.
Christian Fanfelle fired UTSA's low round of the tournament with a 1-under 70 on Wednesday. The two-time all-conference performer had birdies on a three-hole stretch as part of a 2-under 34 on the front nine on the final day, as the San Antonio native bounced back from an 84 on Monday with a 74 in the second round before posting today's red number.
"We are so proud of what this team accomplished on and off the course this year," 13th-year head coach John Knauer said. "This year is a great achievement overall for the program, but I think it will serve as a great stepping stone for future teams. The standard these guys set will be what future teams use as a baseline for excellence. As I always say, I'm just glad these guys got to see the fruits of their labor. They worked very hard this year and deserved the rewards they got."
No. 3 seed and host Vanderbilt captured the team title with an 18-under 834, followed by fourth-seeded Arkansas (-7), No. 5 San Diego State (-5), No. 1 Clemson (-3) and second-seeded NC State (-3) in the top five. San Diego State's Puwit Anupansuebsai won the individual crown with an 8-under 205 (71-67-67).
The Roadrunners now have concluded one of the most successful seasons in school history with the program's first NCAA postseason appearance as a team. UTSA finished in the top five at three tournaments in 2021, 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 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.
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