Ending the season with a bang

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Men’s Golf Team closed the fall with its first tournament victory of the season. The Vaqueros posted a three-round total of 866 at the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and Florida Gulf Coast University Classic Nov. 3 and 4 at the Old Corkscrew Club in Estero, Florida.

“It was nice,” Head Coach Philip Tate said. “The timing was great. It’s the end of the fall season, so we’ll go into finals and Christmas break. I believe in momentum; I think it’s a real thing. It’s like scoring a goal before half-time and I’m really pleased. It’s exactly the way that I would pick for the season to end every year, if I could.”

The win was marked as the fifth victory since the beginning of the Spring 2018 season.

“I think that the mentality and self-belief of the team has finally come together,” Tate said. “You have to believe that you can win.”

During round one, Saint Joseph’s University led the classic with a total of 290. UTRGV followed in second with a first-round total of 294. The Vaqueros jumped on the lead during round two of the classic with a total of 288. Saint Joseph’s and the University of the Incarnate Word were tied for second with a second-round total of 289.

The Vaqueros maintained their lead for the third and final round of the classic with a round total of 284. Saint Joseph’s finished in second with a three-round total of 866, followed by Incarnate Word with a three-round total of 890.

All five UTRGV golfers placed in the top 20.

Redshirt junior Alex Summers led the team with a three-round total of 212 and obtained a first-place finish after defeating Saint Joseph’s senior Michael O’Brien and Lafayette College senior Will Halamandaris in a playoff.

“Alex has been with us now for about a year and almost a half,” Tate said. “It’s amazing to see how much he’s developed. … He’s created a system for himself and it’s one that he can rely on. It’s thrilling and impressive to see him develop that.”

Senior Tae Itthiratchai finished in fourth place with a three-round total of 213. Freshman Rassrikanesh Kanavathi finished in a three-way tie for 12th with Incarnate Word junior Trenton Leffingwell and Lafayette College sophomore Drew Steiner.

Senior Luca Portelli posted a three-round score of 223 and ended in a three-way tie for 15th with Ave Maria University sophomore Jonah Manning and Stetson University sophomore Benjamin Resnick.

Rounding out the top 20 finishers was senior Henry Fisher, who finished in a three-way tie for 20th with Florida Gulf Coast University junior Tyler Carlson and Incarnate Word freshman Christian Hernandez, who each had a three-round score total of 226.

The Vaqueros will now turn to the Spring 2020 season.

“We’re going to constantly focus on improvement,” Tate said. “We’re going to constantly focus on growing.”