SAN ANTONIO, Texas (February 17, 2026) – The No. 17 University of Texas Permian Basin men's golf team finished in a tie for fifth place in a field that featured 10 teams from the Lone Star Conference and 16 total teams in the 54-hole Rattler Invitational at Dominion Country Club on Monday and Tuesday.

The field at the Rattler Invitational included 10 teams from the Lone Star Conference, including No. 9-ranked St. Mary's, No. 15-ranked UT Permian Basin, and three teams receiving votes in the national poll, Dallas Baptist, Midwestern State and UT Tyler. UT Dallas, Lubbock Christian, Western New Mexico, Texas A&M International, and Cameron were also in the field from the LSC. Northwestern Oklahoma State, Missouri Southern, Northeastern State, Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Wesleyan, and Pittsburg State rounded out the field.

The St. Mary's men's golf team hosted the 18th edition of the Rattler Invitational at the Dominion Country Club. The Rattlers have hosted the tournament 28 times overall.

UTPB (291-295-300; 886; +22) tied with Dallas Baptist (295-288-303; 886; +22) and UT Tyler (294-296-296; 886; +22) for fifth. The top-four teams were Midwestern State (280-288-296; 864; E), St. Mary's (289-291-297; 877 +13), Cameron (295-295-288; 878; +14) and Northeastern State (299-295-291; 885: +21). UTPB was in third place after round one (+3) and fourth place after round two before finishing fifth.

After tying for first place during each of the first two rounds at four-under during round one and even-par during round two, Ioan Rowe (68-72-76; 216; E) finished in a three-player tie for fourth place out of 87 total golfers.

Only one stroke behind was Will Tate (73-71-73; 217; +1), who tied for the fourth-lowest score (-1) during round two of the tournament to move into a tie for seventh place, which is where he remained after round three.

Thonsaeng Nunya (80-72-75; 227; +11) tied for 47th and Nizar Bourehim (73-80-76; 229; +13) tied for 53rd.

Making his Falcon debut was Henry Wang (77-80-83; 240; +24), who tied for 76th.

UTPB Head Men's Golf Coach Paul Chavez said, "Anytime you finish in the top-five in a strong field like this, it is a respectable finish. Playing this week without our top freshman, Laurent Beech, others have to step up and pick up the slack, and that is what we have to do if we truly want to build a championship lineup. Ioan and Will have been staples in our lineup for the last couple of years, and they did an excellent job of leading the team, but we need others to step up and be more consistent with their scoring, and that will produce better team results. Getting that first tournament of the Spring season under our belts is critical to see where we are at, and finishing in the top-five is definitely something we can build on for the rest of the season. We will continue to work hard and to try and win some tournaments."

UTPB led the tournament in total pars (168) and was tied for third in par-3 scoring (3.25; +15), tied for sixth in par-4 scoring (4.25; +37), and tied for eighth in par-5 scoring (4.95; -3).

Individually, Tate was tied for first in par-3 scoring (3.00; E). Rowe was tied for second with two eagles, was tied for third in par-5 scoring (4.42; -7), and was tied for fifth in par-3 scoring (3.08: +1). Lastly, Nunya was tied for seventh with 37 pars.

The next event for UTPB will be the Shadow Valley Invitational, hosted by the University of Arkansas Fort Smith on Monday, March 2, and Tuesday, March 3.