Both UTSA golf teams returned to the links this past week to continue their season. Coming off of a win at the Chattanooga Classic the week prior, the women’s team kept up their strong run of form by finishing in second place at their home tournament, the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational. Meanwhile, the men used a huge final round to recover from a lackluster showing up to that point to finish in eighth at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic.

Starting with the women, the team was in fine form to begin the tournament. After round one, the Roadrunners sat in first place with a two-stroke lead over Sam Houston State. This was primarily thanks to the team having a trio of ‘Runners in the top five of the individual leaderboard: Nicole Polivchak in second at three-under-par as well as Ana Gonzalez and Camryn Carreon tied for third at two-under-par. In round two, the fierce battle with Sam Houston State continued and this time the Bearkats came out on top. Sam Houston State finished round two with a round score of 295, just three strokes better than UTSA and just enough to inch ahead by one stroke on the overall leaderboard. Individually, Carreon moved into second place overall at three-under-par, while Polivchak slid into a tie for sixth at even-par and Gonzalez dropped into a tie for twelfth at two-over-par. Meanwhile, Hunter Nugent, who was competing as an individual and thus was not affecting the team competition, moved into a tie for fourth at one-under-par. 

In the final round of the tournament, UTSA endured some brutal setbacks that allowed Sam Houston State to walk away with the team title. Sam Houston State shot a final round 306 as a team to pull away and win the tournament with an overall score of 885. UTSA barely managed to hold on to second with a final round 316, bringing their total score to 896, just one stroke ahead of Incarnate Word. Individually it was a mixed bag for the ‘Runners. Nugent reinforced her position in the final round and finished tied for fourth at four-over-par. Gonzalez bounced back from her shaky round two to finish in a tie for sixth at five-over-par. Polivchak finished in sole possession of ninth place at six-over-par. Carreon, however, endured a rough finish to her tournament, shooting a 15-over-par 87 in the final round to plunge from second place down into a tie for 19th. Further down the leaderboard was Morgan Ellison in 28th at 16-over-par and Hannah Holzmann in 29th at 17-over-par. Katia Mexsen, who, like Nugent, was competing as an individual, finished in a tie for 48th at 26-over-par. 

Meanwhile, the men were in Chandler, Ariz., for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. Competing in a tough 25-team field, wild swings up and down the leaderboard were to be expected and that is what occurred. After round one, the ‘Runners sat tied for 14th with the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks with a round score of 290. It was an okay round for the ‘Runners that could have been worse if not for Michael Rome. Rome came out scorching hot in the first round and his opening round 65 put him in a tie for first on the individual leaderboard, and he was tied for the second-lowest round in UTSA history. Round two was another average round for UTSA, as they posted their second straight 290 and slipped into 17th. Rome faltered slightly with a second round 73 and moved down into a tie for eighth at eight-over-par. 

In the final round, however, UTSA made a big move up the leaderboard. Bolstered by strong all-around performances, UTSA shot the lowest score of the final round with an 18-under-par 270 to move all the way up to sole possession of eighth place. Leading the charge was Christian Fanfelle, who endured a horrific first round 85, but bounced back in a huge way in the final round by shooting a 65 of his own to join Rome in second place all-time on the UTSA leaderboards. Meanwhile, Rome finished his strong tournament just outside the top-10 in a tie for 11th after shooting a two-under-par 70 to finish the tournament at eight-under-par. The rest of the Roadrunners finished off their tournament strong, although earlier struggles relegated Jack Wehman to a tie for 51st at one-over-par, David Harrison to a tie for 65th at three-over-par and Hunter Bott to a tie for 83rd at five-over-par. Fanfelle brought up the rear for UTSA at seven-over-par in a tie for 98th and would surely like a redo of the first round.

The women’s team will now turn their attention to preparing for the Conference USA Championship tournament that will be held from April 18-20 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Meanwhile the men will have two weeks to prepare for their conference tournament which will run from April 25-28 in Texarkana, Ark.