SAN ANTONIO — One week after competing in the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate in Tucson, UTSA will return to the Grand Canyon State to play in the Bell Bank “Pay It Forward” Collegiate, which will be hosted by Minnesota on Monday-Tuesday, March 23-24, at Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park.
The Roadrunners will travel a lineup of Joshua Hong, Logan Vargas, Francisco Sollorza, Brayden Bare and Sam Acharya.
UTSA will compete against No. 42 Arkansas State, Bethel, Denver, Drake, Iowa State, Kansas City, Marquette, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Oral Roberts, St. Thomas, Utah State and Wisconsin.
The field will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday. Live scoring will be provided at scoreboard.clippd.com.
The Roadrunners finished 11th at the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate last Monday and Tuesday at Tucson Country Club. Vargas fired a 5-under-par 67 — the best score of his two-year UTSA career — and ended up in a tie for 12th with a 5-under 211, his best finish and 54-hole score as a Roadrunner.
Vargas ranks second on the team with a 72.9 stroke average this season. The senior from Lubbock has turned in 11 par-or-better scorecards, including in five of his last six rounds. He owns three top-30 finishes and has posted a 54-hole total in the red in each of his last two outings including a 2-under 214 at the Golden Nugget Invitational.
Hong paces UTSA with a 71.63 scoring average and 15 par-or-better rounds, including four sub-70 scores highlighted by a school record-tying 8-under 64 in the first round of the Golden Nugget Invitational. The freshman from Mexico has placed inside the top 10 four times, including thrice this spring with his first collegiate victory coming at the Military City Collegiate last month.
Bare boasts a 74.04 stroke average and a pair of top 10s. The redshirt junior from Waco tied for fifth with a 9-under 207 at the Golden Nugget Invitational after finishing seventh with a 219 at the Military City Collegiate. He has registered nine par-or-better scores headlined by a 5-under 67 at the Golden Nugget.
Acharya carries a 74.08 average through a dozen rounds of his true freshman campaign. A native of Nepal, he has finished inside the top 25 three times with his first career top 10 coming at the Golden Nugget, where he placed fourth with a 10-under 206 (66-70-70).
Solorza owns a 74.14 stroke average this season including a 72.75 during four spring events. The redshirt freshman from Mexico has placed 21st or better in each of his last four outings headlined by a tie for eighth at the Military City Collegiate. He also has finished in the red in his last two tournaments, including carding a 4-under 212 (70-70-72) at the Golden Nugget.
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