Oct. 6, 2009
FIGHTING IRISH GRIDIRON CLASSIC FINAL RESULTS 
Notre Dame, Ind. - The Mavericks fired a five-over 285 in Tuesday's final round at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic which was the second best round of the day to propel them to a fourth place finish in the 15 team field.
The good finish helped the Mavericks defeat two top 35 schools in the field - No. 23 BYU and No. 32 Iowa - while finishing just behind third place Arkansas, who is ranked 20th.
"We finished higher today than we did yesterday and that is always a good thing," UTA head coach Jay Rees said. "I know we left some shots out there the first two rounds but I am glad of the way we finished today. Finishing fourth in the tournament will go a long ways to helping us secure a NCAA at-large berth in the spring."
Bobby Massa and Zack Fischer led the way for the Mavericks Tuesday.
Massa rebounded from a rough start on Monday to fire a three-under 67 which was the best round of the day. After shooting scores of 85 and 74 Monday, he finished in a tie for 40th.
"Bobby struggled the first round with an eight and a nine on his card but he hung in there to shot 74 in the second round," Rees said. "He made some good putts today and to shoot 67 shows he played exceptionally today."
Fischer was also under par Tuesday with a one-under 69. That propelled from 22nd to ninth at seven-over 217 to be the Mavs top finisher for the third consecutive tournament.
"Zack was able to hole some clutch putts and was steady and consistent the entire day," Rees said. "He let some shots get away yesterday but his short game and putting was really sound today."
These two under-par scores were two of only five scores under the par of 70 at the Warren Golf Course Tuesday.
Bryce Easton finished in a tie for 14th at 9-over while Donald Dowie was at 17-over (T47th) and Hunter Brown was at 25-over (T72nd).
"I thought Notre Dame did a great job with this tournament," Rees added. "The golf course was difficult but fair and a good test of golf. We look forward to coming back next year."
The Mavericks return to action on Oct. 18 and 19th at the Lone Star Invitational at Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio.
