STOCKTON, Calif. (May 9, 2026) – The Falcons finished the 2026 NCAA West/South Central Regional Tournament just as they started, in a tie for 18th place. The UT Permian Basin men's golf team posted a 54-hole total of 22-over and was led by senior Will Tate, who totaled one-under for the tournament to finish in 10th place. 

UTPB Head Coach Paul Chavez began by saying, "We had an incredible season culminating with an invite to the NCAA Regional Championship. This tournament was definitely a special moment for our program and for our student-athletes. It is obviously a different level of competition, and now that we have the taste for this kind of competition, we can look forward to a return and to hopefully being able to improve our position."

Beginning the final day tied for 18th place out of 20 teams, UTPB was paired with Lone Star Conference rival Midwestern State and last-place Dominican (CA) in the first five time slots of the day (9:30 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. Central Time).

To begin round three, Ioan Rowe was one-under through four holes while Laurent Beech shot even-par on each of the first seven holes.

Rowe would proceed to shoot even-par or better on 11 straight holes (6-16). Rowe led the team off with a front nine of 36, followed by another 36 on the back nine to combine for an even-par 72. Rowe led the way on Saturday and made two birdies, 14 pars and two bogeys throughout the round.

Tate also posted a 36 on the back nine and shot one-over (73) for the round with three birdies, 11 pars and four bogeys.

Thonsaeng Nunya shot plus-three (75) with three birdies, nine pars and six bogeys.

Beech shot plus-four (76) with one birdie, 12 pars and five bogeys.

Nizar Bourehim shot plus-six (78) with three birdies, nine pars, four bogeys and two double bogeys.

In the end, Tate (73-69-73; 215; -1) finished one-under-par and tied for 10th place. Tate missed a spot in the NCAA Championships by two strokes. Tate's 10th-place finish is the third-best among all UTPB players at the regional championship while his one-under is tied for the third-lowest par-score in program history at the championship. He finished three-under competing as an individual in 2025, the second-lowest par-score since the Falcons' first regional appearance in 2023. Tate was also one of 18 players in the tournament with an eagle.

"Will Tate has set the standard for our program, and I am definitely proud of all he has accomplished," said Chavez. "He leaves as one of the most decorated players to ever come out of UTPB."

Rowe (77-73-72; 222; +6) led UTPB during round three and tied for 60th place overall. It was a 16-spot improvement on the leaderboard from round two to round three for Rowe, who led UTPB and tied for 10th in the tournament with 37 pars.

Rounding out the lineup was Nunya (75-74-75; 224; +8) in a tie for 73rd, Bourehim (78-73-78; 229; +13) in a tie for 93rd and Beech (76-79-76; 231; +15) in a tie for 96th.

UTPB (301-289-296; 886; +22) never recovered from its plus-13 in round one and was tied for 18th after all three rounds. UTPB's best showing came in the second round when it posted an 18-hole total of one-over-par. Despite its placing, UTPB tied its program record for par-score at the regional championship at plus-22, matching its number from 2024 when the Falcons finished in ninth place.

UTPB tied for sixth in the tournament with 169 pars, but had the third-most double bogeys with 13.

"This tournament features the best of the best, and we just got off to a slow start and were not able to move up the leaderboard like we usually do," added Chavez. "All of the teams here are really good, and we gave it our best shot, but it unfortunately was not good enough this week. We have some very talented returners coming back along with a talented recruiting class, and I feel like we can compete here again moving forward."

No. 23-ranked UTPB tied with UT Tyler (294-290-302; 886; +22) and finished two strokes behind Midwestern State (293-297-294; 884; +20) in 17th place. No. 8 St. Mary's (297-287-299; 883; +19) tied with Vanguard (293-296-294; 883; +19) for 15th place. Dominican (301-300-311; 912; +48) rounded out the field of teams in 20th place.

"I want to give a special salute to seniors Will Tate and Thonsaeng Nunya, who will be graduating and moving on to their future endeavors," concluded Coach Chavez. "I appreciate their loyalty and dedication to the program. Anytime you have a coaching change, it creates a different environment, but I appreciate them trusting me and believing in the process. They certainly excelled at the collegiate level, and I believe they will excel in their professional careers as well."

Congratulations to Head Coach Paul Chavez, the seniors and the rest of the Falcons on a terrific 2025-26 men's golf season.