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MIRAMAR, Fla. - Despite featuring a veteran team with three seniors and a junior, it was freshman Paul Gonzalez that helped the UT Arlington men's golf team secure a runner-up finish in stroke play and the second overall seed in tomorrow's match play semifinals at the Sun Belt Men's Golf Championships at Raven Golf Club.

Gonzalez, a native of Waxahachie, Texas, drained a 20-foot birdie putt just off the front of the green on the final hole to put the Mavericks at 19-over for the tournament and secure a second place tie with Georgia Southern. The runner-up finish is the team's best at a conference championship since finishing second in 2015.

UTA will enter tomorrow's match as play as the No. 2 seed and will face third-seeded Georgia Southern. Top seeded Coastal Carolina will go head-to-head against No. 4 South Alabama. Play begins at 7:15 a.m. with CCU and USA, followed by UTA vs. Georgia Southern beginning at 7:55.

The Mavericks will feature a lineup (in descending order of seed) consisting of No. 5 Jake Greenspoon, No. 4 Tanner Gore, No. 3 Nick Thornton, No. 2 Gonzalez and top seeded Aaron Guanlao. Each golfer plays head-to-head against his opponent and earns a point for each hole in which they defeat their opponent. The team with the most head-to-head wins advances to the afternoon's championship final.

UTA turned in its best team score of the tournament in today's third round, turning in a 1-under par 283. The Mavericks went 295-293-285 to finish the 54-hole stroke play at 19-over par. Coastal Carolina claimed the top seed by turning in a 7-under par over the three days.

Senior Guanlao (Haslet, Texas) officially clinched the team's final score with a par on No. 18 today, finished at 1-over par with scores of 72-72-70. He finished in a tie for sixth place overall among the 60-golfer field.

Gonzalez, who equaled his collegiate low score with a 2-under par 69, finished tied for ninth overall at 2-over par. He turned in scores of 72-74-69 over the three days. The last time Gonzalez broke 70 in a collegiate tournament was his first round as a Maverick -- the first round of the Sam Hall Intercollegiate.

Junior Gore put together his best round of the tournament, matching Gonzalez' 2-under 69. The El Paso, Texas native went 76-75-69 to finish in a tie for 21st place with a 7-over par 220.

Graduate transfer Thornton (Boerne, Texas), playing in his first collegiate conference championships, finished tied for 30th at 10-over par, while senior Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) finished at 16-over and finished in a tie for 48th place.

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