UTEP upsets #1 Liberty in semis, comes up short against #2 Sam Houston in final at CUSA Men’s Golf Championship
TEXARKANA, Arkansas – The UTEP men’s golf team upset top-seeded Liberty, 3-2, in the match play semifinals, but the Miners fell short against second-seed Sam Houston, 3.5-1.5 at the 2025 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championship at Texarkana Country Club (par 72, 6969 yards) on Wednesday afternoon.
UTEP, for a second straight season, upset the top-seed team as the Miners took down no. 1 Liberty, 3-2, in the semifinals.
It was a rematch from last year’s CUSA match play final.
The two programs were knotted up before no. 105 Max Schliesing defeated the Flames’ Ike Joy in a one-hole playoff.
After the pair was tied up for seven straight holes to force the playoff, Schliesing won by a stroke as he sank a 10-foot birdie putt on hole 1 (par 4, 400 yards), surging the Miners to the conference final.
Overall, Patrick Foley took down Pascal Gunther 3&2, and Dylan Teeter won 3&1 over Josh Ryan in the semis.
No. 2 Sam Houston defeated no. 3 Kennesaw State, 3-2, in the other semifinal match.
The Bearkats also won on a one-hole playoff over the Owls.
In each of the five matches in the final, UTEP fell behind Sam Houston early in the round.
With a few holes remaining, the Miners were able to close the gap and tie the score 2.5-2.5.
During the rally, Braden Smith went 1UP on hole 15, but Hugo Trommetter tied the match after a Smith bogey.
The pair went into a playoff that went to a third hole (par 3) where Trommetter parred and Smith bogeyed.
Dylan Teeter and Bret Gray ended in a tie after 18 holes, as the pair went back and forth. Teeter held a 1UP lead on holes 2-4, however, he double bogeyed hole 5 to tie the score.
Gray at one point went 2UP after a birdie on a par 3 at hole 14, but Teeter answered with back-to-back birdies at holes 17 and 18.
But it was a little too late as Sam Houston’s Gene Chaikangwal and Ethan Dufresne each led through all 18 holes to defeat Max Schliesing and Alexandre Godin, respectively.
Patrick Foley defeated Josh German, 3&1. German held a 1UP lead through the first two hole, but Foley a took a 1UP lead at hole six (par 3) with birdie.
