Thursday, April 24
Texarkana, Ark.
9:00 AM ET/8:00 AM CT
Liberty University
vs
CUSA Men’s Golf Championship
Liberty Falls to UTEP in CUSA Championship Semifinal Match Play Round
4/24/2025 4:39:00 PM | Men's Golf
TEXARKANA, Ark. – After dominating the stroke play portion of the CUSA Men's Golf Championship, Liberty saw its run at back-to-back titles come to an end on Thursday in the semifinal match play round with a 3-2 loss to UTEP.
No. 1 seed Liberty squared off against No. 4 seed UTEP for the second-straight year in match play; however, the Miners were the victors in the rematch.
Just like last year's championship bout, the Liberty vs. UTEP match needed extra holes with the Miners advancing to the championship round with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
UTEP's Max Schliesing secured the win for the Miners by sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole, allowing him to defeat Liberty's Ike Joy 1 up.
None of the other four matches reached the 18th hole with each team winning two matches. Liberty's Andrew Gregory put the first point on the board for the Flames with a 2&1 win over UTEP's Braden Smith.
The Miners took the next two matches to gain their first lead. UTEP's Pat Foley defeated Liberty's Pascal Gunther, 3&2, while UTEP's Dylan Teeter secured a 3&1 win over Liberty's Josh Ryan.
Liberty's Michael Lugiano tied the overall match at 2-2 with a 2&1 win over UTEP's Alexandre Godin, setting up the dramatic finish.
Joy was able to overcome a plugged lie at the No. 17 hole (par 4, 291 yards), thanks to a nice cross-green two-putt to keep the match square heading into 18.
Schliesing eased a putt down from the upper part of the green at 18 (par 4, 462 yards) for a par and gave Joy a shot a winning the match in regulation. However, Joy's putt from the right-side of the green stayed on the lower part of the hole to send the match in extra holes.
Both players had short wedge shots into the green at No. 1 (par 4, 400 yards). Schliesing sent his past the hole, while Joy left his approach short in the front greenside bunker.
Joy was able to get out the bunker and left himself with a six-foot putt for par. However, Schliesing snaked in a downhill 10-footer for birdie to end the match and send his team into the finals against No. 2 seed Sam Houston during the afternoon.
The loss ends Liberty's consecutive streak of making NCAA Regionals as a team at eight-straight Regionals (2016-19, no Regionals in 2020 due to COVID-19, 2021-24).
However, Joy, who is individually ranked No. 160 in the latest Scoreboard by clippd national rankings, could advance to NCAA Regional play as an individual. Liberty has had a player advance to regional play as an individual three times in program history (2009, 2010 and 2015).
The NCAA Regional field will be announced on Wednesday, April 30, at 1 p.m. EST on the Golf Channel.
Should Joy be selected to compete in the NCAA Regionals, he will stay close to home for the postseason event.
Liberty is one of the six hosts for this year's NCAA Regional play. The Flames will welcome some of the best teams in the country to the NCAA Amherst Regional, May 12-14, at the Poplar Grove Golf Club in Amherst, Va.
Semifinal Match vs. No. 4 seed UTEP (L/ 2-3):
Back on the Course – Liberty's Next Event:
No. 1 seed Liberty squared off against No. 4 seed UTEP for the second-straight year in match play; however, the Miners were the victors in the rematch.
Just like last year's championship bout, the Liberty vs. UTEP match needed extra holes with the Miners advancing to the championship round with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
UTEP's Max Schliesing secured the win for the Miners by sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole, allowing him to defeat Liberty's Ike Joy 1 up.
None of the other four matches reached the 18th hole with each team winning two matches. Liberty's Andrew Gregory put the first point on the board for the Flames with a 2&1 win over UTEP's Braden Smith.
The Miners took the next two matches to gain their first lead. UTEP's Pat Foley defeated Liberty's Pascal Gunther, 3&2, while UTEP's Dylan Teeter secured a 3&1 win over Liberty's Josh Ryan.
Liberty's Michael Lugiano tied the overall match at 2-2 with a 2&1 win over UTEP's Alexandre Godin, setting up the dramatic finish.
Joy was able to overcome a plugged lie at the No. 17 hole (par 4, 291 yards), thanks to a nice cross-green two-putt to keep the match square heading into 18.
Schliesing eased a putt down from the upper part of the green at 18 (par 4, 462 yards) for a par and gave Joy a shot a winning the match in regulation. However, Joy's putt from the right-side of the green stayed on the lower part of the hole to send the match in extra holes.
Both players had short wedge shots into the green at No. 1 (par 4, 400 yards). Schliesing sent his past the hole, while Joy left his approach short in the front greenside bunker.
Joy was able to get out the bunker and left himself with a six-foot putt for par. However, Schliesing snaked in a downhill 10-footer for birdie to end the match and send his team into the finals against No. 2 seed Sam Houston during the afternoon.
The loss ends Liberty's consecutive streak of making NCAA Regionals as a team at eight-straight Regionals (2016-19, no Regionals in 2020 due to COVID-19, 2021-24).
However, Joy, who is individually ranked No. 160 in the latest Scoreboard by clippd national rankings, could advance to NCAA Regional play as an individual. Liberty has had a player advance to regional play as an individual three times in program history (2009, 2010 and 2015).
The NCAA Regional field will be announced on Wednesday, April 30, at 1 p.m. EST on the Golf Channel.
Should Joy be selected to compete in the NCAA Regionals, he will stay close to home for the postseason event.
Liberty is one of the six hosts for this year's NCAA Regional play. The Flames will welcome some of the best teams in the country to the NCAA Amherst Regional, May 12-14, at the Poplar Grove Golf Club in Amherst, Va.
Semifinal Match vs. No. 4 seed UTEP (L/ 2-3):
- Andrew Gregory (LU) won over Braden Smith (UTEP) (2&1)
- Pat Foley (UTEP) won over Pascal Gunther (LU) (3&2)
- Dylan Teeter (UTEP) won over Josh Ryan (LU) (3&1)
- Michael Lugiano (LU) won over Alexandre Godin (UTEP) (2&1)
- Max Schliesing (UTEP) won over Ike Joy (LU) (1 up in 19 holes)
Back on the Course – Liberty's Next Event:
- NCAA Amherst Regional (May 12-14)
- Poplar Grove Golf Club (Amherst, Va.)
- Hosted by Liberty
- Par 70, 7,212 yards
Players Mentioned
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