SAN ANTONIO — UTSA senior Hunter Bott is set to make his second career NCAA postseason appearance and his first as an individual this week at the Austin Regional, which will be hosted by Texas on May 13-15 at UT Golf Club (par 71/7,399 yards).
Bott is the No. 3 seed among 10 individuals chosen along with 13 teams for the Austin Regional. Other individuals in the field include by seed: (1) Gustav Frimodt, TCU; (2) Luke Gutschewski, Iowa State; (4) Cooper Schultz, Kansas State; (5) Kobe Valociek, Virginia Tech; (6) Joseph Sullivan, Florida Gulf Coast; (7) Erik Jansson, Jacksonville State; (8) Justin Biwer, Colorado; (9) Alexandre Vandermoten, Jacksonville; and (10) Peicheng Chen, St. John’s.
The field will play 18 holes each day. Bott is set to tee off at 9:53 a.m. Monday.
Bott is the fourth Roadrunner to be selected for postseason play as an individual, joining Magnus Dohlvik (1998), Mike Mezei (2004) and two-time regional qualifier Zander Lozano (2017, ’18). It marks the sixth time UTSA will be represented in the NCAA postseason, as the 2020-21 Roadrunners earned an at-large berth as a team to the Kingston Springs (Tenn.) Regional.
Bott paces the Roadrunners with a 71.91 stroke average through 32 rounds this season. A native of Montgomery, Texas, the All-American Athletic Conference selection owns four top-10 finishes and has placed inside the top 25 in nine tournaments.
The other five regional sites include Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Rancho Santa Fe, California; Stanford, California; and West Lafayette, Indiana.
The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance to play in the NCAA Championship on May 24-29 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
UTSA’s NCAA Postseason History
When Hunter Bott competes in the Austin Regional on May 13-15, it will mark the sixth time UTSA will be represented in the NCAA postseason. He is the fourth Roadrunner to earn a regional spot as an individual, joining Magnus Dohlvik (1998), Mike Mezei (2004) and two-time regional qualifier Zander Lozano (2017, ’18). The 2020-21 Roadrunners, with a lineup that included Bott, received an at-large berth as a team to the Kingston Springs Regional in Tennessee. UTSA finished 10th with an 876 (294-293-289), while Bott tied for 54th after carding a 224 (73-78-73) at that regional.
|
Year Tournament (Location) Finish (Score) |
|
1998 Central Regional (San Antonio, Texas) individual only |
|
Individual — Magnus Dohlvik, T-75th (76-73-74—223) |
|
2004 Central Regional (West Lafayette, Ind.) individual only |
|
Individual — Mike Mezei, T-91st (83-74-80—237) |
|
2017 Baton Rouge Regional (La.) individual only |
|
Individual — Zander Lozano, T-24th (77-73-74—224) |
|
2018 Bryan Regional (Texas) individual only |
|
Individual — Zander Lozano, T-55th (76-73-77—226) |
|
2021 Kingston Springs Regional (Tenn.) 10th (294-293-289—876) |
|
Top Individual — Chad Sewell, T-39th (71-75-72—218) |
Super Senior
Nearing the end of his super senior season, UTSA’s Hunter Bott is enjoying arguably the best year of his career. The Montgomery, Texas, native has logged a 71.91 stroke average through 32 rounds this season, which currently ranks first on the program’s single-season list just ahead of two-time regional qualifier Zander Lozano’s 72.03 mark established in 2016-17. Named to the All-American Athletic Conference Team this spring, Bott has registered four top-10 finishes and nine top-25 showings overall in 2023-24. He birdied his final two holes to force a sudden death playoff at The Clerico after he finished with an 8-under-par 202 (68-68-66), but eventually was defeated on the fourth hole in settling for runner-up honors. He finished seventh at both the Sea Best Invitational and The Aggie Invitational, and he grabbed a share of ninth at The Carolina Cup last fall. He owns 13 par-or-better rounds, including seven sub-70 scores this season.
Record-Breaking Pace
Hunter Bott is on a record-breaking pace during his final campaign with the Roadrunners. The super senior boasts a 71.91 stroke average through 32 rounds in 2023-24, which is on track to eclipse Zander Lozano’s school record of 72.03 set in 2016-17. Additionally, Bott is a strong position to end his career ranked in the top five on the program’s career scoring average list. He currently owns a 73.52 mark in 138 career rounds, good for third place behind only Lozano (72.55) and Michael Rome (73.80). Bott owns 44 par-or-better rounds, including 18 sub-70 scorecards, and he has finished in the top 10 nine times as a Roadrunner. He has logged an improvement in season stroke average throughout his career, going from 75.08 to 74.05 over his first two years, followed by marks of 73.72 in 2021-22 and 73.41 in 2022-23 before his current 71.91 pace this season. Additionally, Bott has registered 44 par-or-better scorecards, including 18 below 70, and nine top-10 finishes during his career.
Low Season Stroke Average (minimum 20 rounds)
|
Avg |
Name |
Year |
|
71.91 |
2023-24 |
|
|
72.03 |
Zander Lozano |
2016-17 |
|
72.21 |
Zander Lozano |
2017-18 |
Low Career Stroke Average (minimum 60 rounds)
|
Average |
Strokes |
Rds |
Name |
Years |
|
72.55 |
10,520 |
145 |
Zander Lozano |
2014-18 |
|
73.50 |
8,820 |
120 |
Michael Rome |
2017-22 |
|
73.52 |
10,146 |
138 |
2019-24 |
|
|
73.57 |
9,638 |
131 |
Christian Fanfelle |
2018-23 |
|
73.81 |
10,259 |
139 |
Bryce Alley |
2013-17 |
Walking the Stage
It will be the quite the week for UTSA senior Hunter Bott, as he is set to receive his bachelor’s degree in management this weekend during the university’s annual commencement. He is a three-time Golf Coaches Association of America All-American Scholar and a four-time member of a league academic honor roll.
Wernecke in Second Season at Helm
UTSA head coach Matt Wernecke is in his second season at the helm of the program. A native of Austin, Wernecke (pronounced WER-neh-key) has guided the Roadrunners to 15 top-10 finishes, including four top fives. Additionally, UTSA has collected three all-conference certificates during his tenure, including two-time honoree Hunter Bott, who has become the fourth Roadrunner to advance to the NCAA postseason as an individual this season. Wernecke came to San Antonio following a two-year stint as assistant men’s golf coach at Louisville, where he helped lead the Cardinals to back-to-back NCAA postseason appearances, including a ninth-place finish at nationals in 2021. A Texas high school coaching veteran of more than a decade, he spent 11 seasons as the head coach of the boys and girls golf programs at Vandegrift High School in Austin. He guided the boys program to 11 state championship appearances, winning three consecutive state titles in 2014-16 and being named the 2016 State Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High School coaches. His teams won 23 team championships and boasted 25 individual champions, while sending 18 players on to play collegiate golf, including current Roadrunner Jack Wehman. Wernecke, who played collegiately at Sam Houston, guided the Vandegrift girls program to five state tournament appearances, earning runners-up honors in 2016 and a third-place finish in 2015. The Vipers won 24 team titles, recorded six individual champions and had 11 players continue their careers in collegiate golf.
-UTSA-