Wednesday, April 28
Texarkana, Ark.
University of North Texas
vs
Conference USA Championship
Freshman Marzilio Claims C-USA Crown
4/28/2021 2:22:00 PM | Men's Golf
TEXARKANA, Ark. - The North Texas men's golf team fought to a second-place finish in the final day of stroke-play competition on Wednesday at the Texarkana Country Club, as the Mean Green shot a blistering 10-under-par 278 - a season-best round - buoyed by freshman Vicente Marzilio's 5-under 67 that netted him the Conference USA individual championship at 11-under par for the tournament.
With the win, Marzilio is the fifth Mean Green golfer to win an individual championship, and fourth in head coach Brad Stracke's tenure, joining Ty Spinella (2012) and current PGA stars Carlos Ortiz (2011) and Sebastian Munoz (2015). The Mean Green began the day in fourth place and three shots back of leader Middle Tennessee State, while Marzilio was 6-under par and one shot back of the individual lead. Marzilio had seven birdies on the day, including four in his last seven holes to edge UAB's Khavish Varadan by one stroke.
"I'm so proud of this team finishing strong and moving on to match play," Stracke said. "Vicente Marzilio played unreal today to medal in stroke play as a freshman."
The Mean Green had a well-rounded day other than Marzilio, as junior Lenny Bergsson shot a 2-under 70 to match senior Viktor Forslund and freshman Nikhil Gopal shot a 1-under 71, meaning the team had all four scorers break par. Bergsson tied for ninth at 3-under for the tournament.
North Texas will be joined by stroke-play winner Middle Tennessee State, No. 38 UAB and No. 33 Charlotte in the match-play portion of the championship to decide the conference champion. Both the semifinals and final were originally scheduled for Thursday but pending inclement weather in Thursday's forecast means the semifinals will be played Wednesday afternoon and evening with the final scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The Mean Green will be matched against UAB, while Middle Tennessee State and Charlotte will play Wednesday. The winners will meet Thursday, and the winner will win the conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. As the individual champion, Marzilio will also get an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional if the Mean Green are eliminated in match play.
Fans can follow the match play live on Golfstat, as well as checking for updates on Twitter and Instagram, while checking MeanGreenSports.com at the end of each day's action for daily recaps.
Team Leaderboard
1. Middle Tennessee State (-14)
2. North Texas (-12)
3. No. 38 UAB (-11)
4. No. 33 Charlotte (-7)
5. No. 44Â UTSAÂ (-4)
6. Old Dominion (+4)
T7. Florida Atlantic (+7)
T7. Southern Mississippi (+7)
9. Louisiana Tech (+10)
T10. UTEP (+11)
T10. Rice (+11)
12. Western Kentucky (+22)
13. Marshall (+24)
Player Leaderboard
1. Vicente Marzilio (-11)
T9. Lenny Bergsson (-3)
T27. Nikhil Gopal (+2)
T27. Viktor Forslund (+2)
T42. Sean Wilcox (+6)
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With the win, Marzilio is the fifth Mean Green golfer to win an individual championship, and fourth in head coach Brad Stracke's tenure, joining Ty Spinella (2012) and current PGA stars Carlos Ortiz (2011) and Sebastian Munoz (2015). The Mean Green began the day in fourth place and three shots back of leader Middle Tennessee State, while Marzilio was 6-under par and one shot back of the individual lead. Marzilio had seven birdies on the day, including four in his last seven holes to edge UAB's Khavish Varadan by one stroke.
"I'm so proud of this team finishing strong and moving on to match play," Stracke said. "Vicente Marzilio played unreal today to medal in stroke play as a freshman."
The Mean Green had a well-rounded day other than Marzilio, as junior Lenny Bergsson shot a 2-under 70 to match senior Viktor Forslund and freshman Nikhil Gopal shot a 1-under 71, meaning the team had all four scorers break par. Bergsson tied for ninth at 3-under for the tournament.
North Texas will be joined by stroke-play winner Middle Tennessee State, No. 38 UAB and No. 33 Charlotte in the match-play portion of the championship to decide the conference champion. Both the semifinals and final were originally scheduled for Thursday but pending inclement weather in Thursday's forecast means the semifinals will be played Wednesday afternoon and evening with the final scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The Mean Green will be matched against UAB, while Middle Tennessee State and Charlotte will play Wednesday. The winners will meet Thursday, and the winner will win the conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. As the individual champion, Marzilio will also get an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional if the Mean Green are eliminated in match play.
Fans can follow the match play live on Golfstat, as well as checking for updates on Twitter and Instagram, while checking MeanGreenSports.com at the end of each day's action for daily recaps.
Team Leaderboard
1. Middle Tennessee State (-14)
2. North Texas (-12)
3. No. 38 UAB (-11)
4. No. 33 Charlotte (-7)
5. No. 44Â UTSAÂ (-4)
6. Old Dominion (+4)
T7. Florida Atlantic (+7)
T7. Southern Mississippi (+7)
9. Louisiana Tech (+10)
T10. UTEP (+11)
T10. Rice (+11)
12. Western Kentucky (+22)
13. Marshall (+24)
Player Leaderboard
1. Vicente Marzilio (-11)
T9. Lenny Bergsson (-3)
T27. Nikhil Gopal (+2)
T27. Viktor Forslund (+2)
T42. Sean Wilcox (+6)
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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/ Men's Golf
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