UTEP defeats NMSU to advance to match play at the men’s golf CUSA Championship
TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS - The UTEP men’s golf team won in a playoff over rival NM State to advance to match play for a second consecutive season following the final round of stroke play at the 2025 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championship at Texarkana Country Club (par 72, 6969 yards) on Wednesday afternoon.
The Miners and Aggies’ storied rivalry dates back over 100 years, as the two squads battled for the fourth and final spot in Thursday’s match play round. Ultimately, UTEP shot even-par, defeating NM State, and secured its place in the semifinals.
The Miners will face top-seed Liberty in the semis.
The two squads were pitted against each other in last year’s match play final.
“CUSA is extremely competitive this year, probably the best it’s been in years. We knew we had to play well to make match play, and we hung in all three rounds,” UTEP Head Coach Aaron Puetz said. “A late comeback by NMSU forced a playoff for the last match-play spot. Our guys pulled together on the first playoff hole to win and secure our spot. It was a total team effort to get us in a position to win the championship. We are excited for tomorrow and to represent the 9-1-5. Go Miners!”
Liberty (277-293-280—850) maintained its lead through all 54 holes, locking up the top seed after shooting 14-under par 850. Sam Houston (291-283-280—854) held on to the second seed, and Kennesaw State (292-285-284—861) moved up two spots to the third seed to advance to match play.
UTEP (290-284-288—862) and NM State (291-288-283—862) tied for fourth after 54 holes before the Miners beat the Aggies in a one-hole playoff to advance as the four-seed.
Middle Tennessee (285-289-291—865) dropped four spots to sixth after being tied for second after two rounds.
Dylan Teeter (74-70-70—214) finished as the top Miner at 2-under par 214.
He shot a 2-under par 70 to climb six spots to tie for ninth overall in the individual leaderboard.
Teeter penciled in five birdies, including birdies at 16 and 17.
Alexandre Godin (71-74-70—215) moved six spots to tie for 13th after shooting a 2-under par 70 in the third round. Godin birdied four holes on the first nine.
Braden Smith (69-71-76—216) dropped 14 spots to tie for 16th.
Smith led the Miners with 12 birdies (tied for seventh most in the field).
No. 105 Max Schliesing (76-71-72—219) finished tied for 25th. Schliesing led the Miners with 37 pars.
Patrick Foley (77-72-77—226) finished 37th. Foley tallied seven birdies.
NM State’s Aidan Thomas (70-70-68—208) won the individual title at 8-under par 208, a stroke ahead of Liberty’s Ike Joe (68-71-70—209). Sam Houston’s Hugo Trommetter (74-66-70—210) and Kennesaw State’s Claes Borregaard (72-68-70—210) tied for third. Trommetter eagled two holes on Wednesday.
UTEP ranked tied for second at 12-over on par 3 holes (3.20 average), and tied for second on par 5s at 18-under (4.70). The Miners ranked second with a pair of eagles while tallying 45 birdies and tied for the field most with 169 pars.
THURSDAY’S MATCH PLAY INFO
No. 4 UTEP will take on no. 1 Liberty at 8 a.m. CT/7 MDT on hole one, while no. 2 Sam Houston and no. 3 Kennesaw State will tee off at hole 18 at the same time.
Coverage will be on ESPN+ starting at 1 p.m. CT/Noon MDT.
Group one is Braden Smith and Liberty’s Andrew Gregory, teeing off at 8 a.m. CT/7 MDT.
Group two is Patrick Foley and Pascal Gunther (8:09 a.m.)
Group three is Dylan Teeter and Josh Ryan (8:18 a.m.).
Group four is Alexandre Godin and Michael Lugiano (8:27 a.m.).
Group five is Max Schliesing and Ike Joy (8:36 a.m.).
LAST YEAR’S MATCH PLAY
No. 4 UTEP defeated the top-seed LA Tech, 3-2, in the semifinal. No. 3 Liberty beat no. 2 Sam Houston. The Flames won the CUSA Championships, defeating the Miners, 3-2, on April 25, 2024.
THE LAST TIME
After coming up short last season, the Miners are looking for their first CUSA title since claiming it in 2017 as a no. 1 seed over no. 3 Charlotte, 3-1-0, in match play.
