TEXARKANA, Ark. — Making its second Conference USA Men's Golf Championship Match appearance in the last three league tournaments, UTSA dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to No. 28-ranked Charlotte in a showdown for the league title on Thursday afternoon at Texarkana Country Club (par 72/6,969 yards).
Michael Rome was up by three holes in his match against Carson Ownbey and Jack Wehman held a two-hole advantage over Ben Woodruff when the 49ers clinched the victory.
Charlotte's Dongjin Park downed Hunter Bott 4&3 for a 1-0 lead. Matt Sharpstene and Conor Gough secured the triumph with simultaneous wins in their matchups against David Harrison and Christian Fanfelle, respectively.
The Roadrunners earned the 3-seed by finishing third in the team standings after 54 holes of stroke play, marking their third appearance in the match play round in the last six conference tournaments (the 2020 C-USA Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
UTSA eliminated 2-seed Southern Miss by a 4-1 count in the semifinal round Thursday morning to advance to the championship against the fourth-seeded 49ers, who beat top seed Florida Atlantic 3-1-1 to advance.
Harrison was first to win in that semifinal match against the Golden Eagles, dropping Ryan Dupuy 6&4. Rome defeated Brice Wilkinson 5&4, while Bott and Wehman also came out on top in their battles to secure UTSA's spot in the title bout.
"I'm super proud of the effort our guys gave this week," said head coach John Knauer, who led UTSA to a 104-61 head-to-head record in 2021-22 for the most wins in program history. "All throughout stroke play, they battled and qualified for match play. Then, they turned it up a notch in the morning match and really played inspired golf.
"In the final, we played good again, but it just wasn't enough as Charlotte played lights out. A 3-2 loss to the 28th-ranked team in America is nothing to be ashamed of. This hurts, of course, but we will grow from the experience and be back next year."
The Roadrunners also made it to the C-USA Championship Match in 2019, falling to Middle Tennessee in a 3-2 contest that was not decided until the sixth playoff hole.
UTSA also made the semifinal round in 2016 in the second year that C-USA adopted the match play format to determine the team champion and automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships.
UTSA carded a 4-over 868 (285-292-291) during the 54-hole, stroke-play competition to place third, two strokes ahead of Charlotte and six shots in front of a three-way tie for fifth between Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee and UAB at 10-over 874. The Roadrunners ended up eight back of Southern Miss and nine behind Florida Atlantic in the final team standings.
Rome finished in third place at 4-under-par 212 and Bott was one spot and a single stroke behind his teammate in fourth at 3-under 213, as that duo landed on the all-tournament team and helped UTSA move into C-USA Match Play for the third time in the last six league championship events.
After opening the week with a 3-under 69, Rome followed Tuesday's 71 with an even-par 72. The super senior out of Austin Westlake High bounced back from three bogeys on the front nine with a trio of birdies on the back, including a three on the 462-yard, par-4 18th hole that vaulted him into sole possession of third in the individual race. He registered a team-high 12 birdies for the tournament and ended up only two strokes behind individual medalist Michael Barnard of Middle Tennessee.
Bott also fired a 69 in the opening round and then closed with his second straight 72 on the strength of birdies on the 501-yard, par-5 second and 291-yard, par-4 17th holes on Wednesday. The junior from Montgomery tallied 11 birdies for the week and his fourth-place finish marked the best conference showing of his UTSA career, as well as his fourth top five of the season.
Christian Fanfelle matched Rome and Bott with an even-par scorecard in the final round despite having to settle for a 10 on the 555-yard, par-5 12th hole. The senior from San Antonio wrote down three birdies through his first 10 holes and then bounced back from No. 12 with his second eagle of the week, a two on the par-4 17th. An all-conference performer last season, he finished in a tie for 22nd at 3-over 219 (73-74-72) and was the only player in the field with more than one eagle.
David Harrison grabbed a share of 42nd with a 224. The junior from Trophy Club opened with a 74 on Monday before posting back-to-back 75s, and his final round scorecard was highlighted by birdies on the seventh and 16th holes.
Jack Wehman rounded out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 55th (229). The freshman from Austin carded a 74 in the first round and bounced back from an 80 on Tuesday with a 75 behind a trio of birdies on Wednesday.
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