UTSA ChipIn Club for Men's Golf Team

This article is from the December 24, 2003 Express-News...

UTSA's golf team is winning on the links, in the classroom
By John Whisler
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 12/24/2003 12:00 AM

UTSA's men's golf team won two tournaments and finished a close second at two others. Two players won individual titles against strong fields, helping the Roadrunners to a No. 45 national ranking out of 3,300 schools. But that only begins to tell the story of UTSA's fall season, considered the best in school history.
      "We have a lot of guys interested in golf and we have a lot of guys interested in grades," Roadrunners coach Chris Donielson said. "Golf and grades. That's a nice combination to have, and it was a big part of our success."
      Donielson said six of his eight players sport grade-point averages of 3.0 or better. Three have GPAs of 3.5 or above.
      That says much about the team, the coach says. And it helps to explain why UTSA could be one of the best-kept secrets in the country.
      Little UTSA had a higher national ranking than such other big-name schools as Arizona, Ohio State and Florida State, to name a few.
      "We have a lot of guys who are focused and disciplined," said Donielson, who is in his fourth season as coach of the UTSA men's team. "That's reflected in the classroom and on the golf course."
      The Roadrunners got off to a fast start on the golf course this fall, winning the 20-team Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in September.
      Canadian Mike Mezei, UTSA's No. 1 player, won the individual title. John Elizondo, a Brackenridge graduate, finished tied for third.
      At the Baylor Invitational in Waco, UTSA finished fifth. Mezei was third individually. The Roadrunners placed fifth out of 15 teams.
      The Nestle/Purina Classic in St. Charles, Mo., saw UTSA finish second ahead of host Missouri, Miami (Ohio), Memphis, Iowa State and Wisconsin. Elizondo finished tied for third; Mezei tied for fifth.
      Then in October, UTSA captured the 13-team SFA Crown Colony Classic in Lufkin, with Elizondo winning medalist honors.
      In November at the Del Walker Collegiate in Long Beach, Calif., the Roadrunners finished second by two strokes to UC Riverside and ahead of Southland Conference rival Lamar, as well as San Jose State, Long Beach State, Arizona, Houston and Oregon State. Individually, Mezei tied for fifth.
      "Everybody's going in the same direction," Donielson said. "We're going to see a lot of good things come out of this season."
      With the spring season yet to come, the Roadrunners are gunning for NCAA tournament consideration.
      Mezei ranks 14th nationally with a stroke average of 70.47; Elizondo sports a 71.80 average, while Canadian Matt Johnston averages 72.67 strokes per round.
      The team average is 1-under par. UTSA ranks seventh nationally in fairways hit and 14th in greens in regulation. Still, Donielson said, there is plenty of room for improvement.
      The Roadrunners won in Colorado despite 21 three-putt greens and finished second in California despite 19 three-putts.
      "The fewest three-putts we've had is 12," Donielson said. "If we can improve our putting, the sky's the limit. I think we'll get there. We're working hard on it. This team doesn't like losing, doesn't like making mistakes."
      Donielson said Elizondo, a sophomore, has a particularly bright future.
      "He has just the right edge," the coach said. "He has something in him where he has to win. I've seen him start out 5 or 6 under after four holes and come in 2-under par. He has every opportunity to go as far as he wants to in golf."
      Elizondo is one of two area players on the team. Senior Michael Schaeffer is from New Braunfels.
     The area pipeline is continuing. UTSA signed Judson senior Nick Olivarri, one of the area's top high school players, for next year.
      "(Donielson) is a great coach," Olivarri said. "He does a lot for the team. I had a number of other offers, but there's a lot of support for golf here. It's a great program."

UTSA men's golf team signs Nick Olivarri
SAN ANTONIO - UTSA head men's golf coach Chris Donielson announced Tuesday the signing of Nick Olivarri of San Antonio to a national letter of intent. Read the full article by UTSA SID here.

Conference leading Roadrunners wrap up their double victory fall season with 2nd at Del Walker
Schaeffer sinks hole-in-one on number 10
(Long Beach, CA 11/7/03) The UTSA golf team finished the fall season #45 of 3300 national schools, with a record of two wins, two seconds and a fifth, as they placed second by only two strokes with a 2-over-par score of 868, against a strong national

Southland Conference Teams	Score
Texas-San Antonio (15 rounds--4316	287.73
Southeastern Louisiana (15 rnds--4347	289.80
Louisiana-Monroe (15 rounds--4399	293.27
Lamar (17 rounds--4993)	293.71
Stephen F. Austin (12 rounds--3553	296.08
Texas-Arlington (15 rounds--4475	298.33
Texas State (9 rounds--2686	298.44
McNeese State (15 rounds--4478	298.53
Sam Houston State (15 rounds--4516	301.07
Nicholls State (13 rounds--4003	307.92

field in the Del Walker Collegiate today, beating the likes of Houston, Arizona, Oregon State and Lamar. They lost to UC Riverside (866) by a narrow two strokes.
      Senior Mike Mezei (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) and junior Michael Schaeffer (New Braunfels, Texas) led the UTSA charge, tying for fifth place in the individual standings at three-under-par 210. See article for more.
     See final results by clicking on team and individual.
     This fall, Mike Mezei won the Falcon classic and John Elizondo won the Crown Colony on the toughest course in Texas.

Again! UTSA captures team and individual honors for 2nd time in new season at Crown Colony Classic

Medalist John Elizondo does his Michael Jordan immitation in an earlier event.

(Lufin TX Crown Colony GC - 10/14/03) The UTSA Roadrunners continue their winning season with their second victory today on the Crown Colony Golf Course, rated toughest in the state. The team won by 8 strokes with a final round of 300, low team for the day, in terrible wind, with the tees all the way back. Click Team and Individual and Indvidual Details for final results. The team also won the Air Force Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs, and Mike Mezei was the medalist..
     "This course played really tough today," related Coach Donielson from Lufkin. "John Elizondo stepped up and won low individual in a playoff. The guys hung in there under tough conditions, and brought home a victory."
      Mike Mezei posted a 2-over 74 today after rounds of 70-75 on Monday and finished in a tie for sixth place at 3-over 219. Matt Johnston had the low Roadrunner round on the final day with a 72, and Luke Healy had 79 on the day. See reprint.of UTSA article..

Express-News Features Elizondo
     John Elizondo is featured today in the SA Express-News Sports section. Click Elizondo Article to find out how 120-pound John hits a golf ball consistently over 300 yards.

UTSA places 2nd in Missouri Nestle Purina Golf Classic
Elizondo low Roadrunner with 3 69's; Mezei shoots final 67
     (Missouri Bluffs GC, St. Charles, MO 10/7 2:06pm) John Elizondo, Mike Mezei and Matty Johnston all shot under par for the tournament as UTSA placed 2nd behind nationally ranked #9 Kansas State (record breaking 22-under-par (277-268-285=830) today with a 6-under-par 282-284-280=846. The Roadrunners defeated #11 ranked SE Louisana (Even par 852) and host Missouri (3-under-par 849).
     John Elizondo was low Roadrunner medalist with a three-round 6-under-par score of 69-69-69=207, while Mike Mezei finished with a low round 67 (4-under-par 72-70-67=209). Matt Johnston finished at 1-under-par 212, Luke Healy at 218, and Michael Schaeffer at 235.
     See Final Missouri results for details. Also see and Team-by-Team.

UTSA GOLF TEAM FINISHES FIFTH AT BAYLOR INVITATIONAL
By Rick Nixon, UTSA SID
      (WACO, TEXAS) Looking for a second straight team championship, the UTSA men's golf team had to settle for fifth place as play concluded at the 2003 Baylor Invitational held at Bear Ridge Golf Club (par 72/7,275 yards) on Tuesday afternoon.
          The Roadrunners, which were coming off of a team title last week at the Air Force Academy, shot a three-round total of 876 to finish eight strokes behind tournament champion LSU, which shot an 868. Southeastern Louisiana (870) was second, Lamar (872) was third, Baylor (875) was fourth, while UTSA tied with Texas Tech for fifth.
          UTSA senior Mike Mezei finished third overall, with a four-under-par 212. Mezei was 10 strokes back of Chris Stroud of Lamar who shot a 202, while Andrew Dresser of Texas Tech was second with a 210. Mezei was the individual champion a week ago at the Air Force Academy Tournament. Other Roadrunner finishers included Matt Johnston, who tied for 14th with a 218; John Elizondo, who tied for 28th with a 222; Ryan Cromwell, who was tied for 59th with a 230; and Luke Healy, who was tied for 71st with a 234.
          Next up for UTSA will be the The Nestle Purina Classic to be held on Oct. 6-7 in St. Charles, Mo. See final results for details.

UTSAA Roadrunners win season opener at Air Force Academy Falcon Invitational
Mezei sets course record; Elizondo places third
- Press Release by UTSA SID (Contact: Rick Nixon
      (Air Force Academy, Sunday, September 21, 2003) The UTSA men's golf team, led by a first place record performance from senior Mike Mezei, opened the 2003-04 golf season with a resounding three-stroke victory at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by the United States Air Force Academy at the historic Eisenhower Blue Course (par 72-7301 yards) on Sept. 19-20.
           Mezei tied a 30-year-old tournament record by shooting a nine-under-par 207 to win the individual championship by three strokes over Luke Swilor of the University of Utah. Mezei, a native of Lethbridge, Canada, had rounds of 66, 71 and 70 as he cruised to the victory at a tournament and course that has seen the likes of Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Tom North and Johnny Miller over the years.
           Fueled by Mezei and a third place finish by sophomore John Elizondo, who shot a two-under-par 214, UTSA won the team title over a field that featured 18 schools. The Roadrunners shot a three-round total of 859, three strokes better than Utah, which finished second, while New Mexico was third with an 870.
           Other UTSA finishers included Luke Healy, who ended 23rd with a total of 220, while Matt Johnston tied for 26th with a total of 221, and Ryan Cromwell was in a tie for 69th with a 231.
           "It's thrilling for us to go out so early in the season and score a tournament championship," said head coach Chris Donielson, who saw the Roadrunners win a tournament for the second time during his tenure which began in 2000. "Mike (Mezei) was phenomenal, picking up where he left off during his outstanding summer play. John Elizondo, Luke Healy and the rest of the team provided the necessary support for us to pick up the tournament win. Hopefully it will be the start of an exciting season to come."
           The Roadrunners will return to action for their second tournament of the fall season when they travel to Waco, Texas to play in the Baylor Invitational on Sept. 29-30.
     Click here for detailed results.

Gibby shoots back with 2-under round but misses cut
(Texas Open - Friday, 9/27/2003) Gibby Martens shot 2-under-par 68 for his second day for a total of 2 over par 142. Former Roadrunner Gibby Martins had qualified at Woodlake to play in the Texas Open. He shot 65 and tied for first. There were two spots available and he was awarded one of them. Congratulations to Gibby.. See UTSA SID Site for complete Gibby story.

Hundreds volunteer to help Texas Open tournament happen
(San Antonio - La Cantera Golf Club) Coach Chris called in from the course where he is working with the volunteers at the Texas Open.
          "This is huge for us, " said Coach Donielson. "Every year we provide hundreds of volunteers for the Texas Open. They are a major contributor to our athletic programs at UTSA. The team and I work Monday through Sunday of the Open week. Volunteer work. We have coordinated the golf team, golf classes, World Savings, Alpha Tau Omega, and Kappa Sigma to work the Open this year."
          Chris continued.
         "When I got here three years ago we were responsible for 25-30 volunteers and now this year we will do 171 total for the week. The highlight will be scoring the big pro-ams on Wednesday and Saturday. We do a good job and each year the demands step up a notch"

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