Rice University
UAB
Mitchell Meissner Wins Conference USA Golf Championship
4/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
By: Tim Andrzejewski (tim.andrzejewski@rice.edu)
.@RiceGolf's Mitchell Meissner birdied the 18th today to push his team into the final match play spot. Talk about clutch!
...wait for the fist pump(s) 👊⛳️ pic.twitter.com/8tt4bpTQmG-- Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) April 24, 2018
Final Results 
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Texarkana, Ark. -- Leading by one stroke with two holes to play, senior Mitchell Meissner birdied the final two holes to clinch the Conference USA individual championship, played at the par-72, 6,969-yard Texarkana Country Club.
With the victory, Meissner earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals.
The birdies also put Rice into fourth-place and into the match play semifinals against No. 1 seed UAB. It is the first time that Rice made the match play portion since the conference went to this format in 2015.
Meissner, who came into the day with a three shot lead over UAB's William Walker III, came out of the gate strong with a birdie on the second hole to increase his lead to four shots. After three straight pars, Meissner bogeyed the sixth hole. They both birdied seven, but bogeys on eight and nine sent Meissner into the turn with just a one shot lead.
Meissner birdied the 10th hole, but a double-bogey on 12 dropped Meissner into a tie with Walker. He then bogeyed 13, but Walker double-bogeyed both 13 and 14, bringing North Texas' Ian Snyman into second-place.
Meissner entered the final three holes with a one shot lead on Snyman while at the same time; Rice was in fifth-place, one shot behind North Texas for the final spot. After a par on 16, Meissner gave himself some room and pulled Rice even with the Mean Green with a birdie on 17. Needing a birdie on the final hole to put the Owls into match play, Meissner did just that, clinching the individual title in the process.
With the victory, Meissner joins Christopher Brown (2010) as the only Rice golfers to win the Conference USA Championship. He is also one of seven golfers to win a conference championship, joining Brown, Mark Pfingston, John Garrett, Buddy Weaver (twice), Ed Letscher and Joe Greenwood.
It is Meissner's second straight victory, having won the Ryman Hospitality Intercollegiate two weeks ago. He is the first golfer since 1985 with consecutive victories and joins Brown as the only golfers with multiple wins in a season.
Rice carded a seven-over 295 to finish 17-over par in fourth-place.
Senior Mario Carmona fired a one-under 71 to finish two-over par and tied for sixth-place. It is his team-leading 18th round of par or better this year and the 47th of his career. It is also the fifth top ten finish of the season and the 12th of his career.
Freshmen Jake Benson and Rishi Kerjiwal tied for 40th and 44th-place, respectively. Benson carded a 77 to finish 12-over par and Kerjiwal shot a 79 to finish 13-over par.
Sophomore Nicholas Duggan shot a 74 and finished in 65th-place after being disqualified on Sunday.
In the semifinal match, Rice fell to UAB 4-1. The Blazers took a 2-0 lead as Duggan fell to Nick Robillard, 3&2 and Carmona fell to R.J. Keur, 5&2. Duggan never led in his match while Carmona, who led early, was all square at the turn. However, he dropped five of the next six holes.
Benson won two of the first three holes against John Hayden. Hayden then won the fourth hole and pulled all square on the seventh. The match stayed that way until Benson won the 12th and 13th holes. However, he dropped the next four holes to fall 1-up and give UAB the match.
Meissner will find out where he will go next Wednesday, May 2. The NCAA Selection Show will be televised by the Golf Channel at 4:30 p.m.
"I'm so very proud of this team and how they preserved this week," said head coach Justin Emil. "The best moment was when Mitchell (Meissner) made the last putt on the 18th hole to get the win and vault the team into match play. It was so close and the guys fought hard to the end. We lost to the number one seed and a really good UAB team."
Players Mentioned
