Sunday, April 20
Dalhousie Golf Club - Cape Girardeau, Mo.
UT Martin
vs
OVC Championships
Skyhawks Narrowly Fall in OVC Championship Match Play Finals; Xoinis Bound For NCAA Regionals
4/23/2025 6:41:00 PM | Golf
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The University of Tennessee at Martin left it all on the Dalhousie Golf Club course today but the Skyhawks fell 3-2 in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Championship match to nationally-ranked Little Rock. UT Martin advanced to the match play finals after a 4-1 semifinals victory over Lindenwood earlier in the day.
Jonathan Xoinis and Luke Caldwell each went 2-0 in match play on the day while Grant Phillips and Jackson Twerdahl added a victory against the Lions.
Against Lindenwood, Caldwell and Twerdahl each produced 4&3 wins while Phillips (2&1) and Xoinis (1Up through 14) also emerged victorious, leading to the program's second appearance in the OVC Championships match play finals in the four-year history of that format.
The Skyhawks challenged the No. 49 Trojans to the end of the finals. Caldwell won 4&2 and Xoinis claimed a 2Up (through 16) victory against his OVC Co-Medalist opponent. However, Little Rock came out on top of a pair of 1Up decisions to claim their second OVC title in the past three seasons.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team and how we handled ourselves this week," UT Martin head coach Austin Swafford said. "The five guys in our lineup gave it absolutely everything they had and we can't ask for any more than that. Little Rock is a very good team but we are too – our guys are walking out of here with their heads held high as they should be. They represented what we are about and I am so proud to be their head coach."
Xoinis will continue his career as the OVC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Regionals, which will take place on May 12-14. This year's NCAA Regional sites include Amherst, Va.; Auburn, Ala.; Bremerton, Wash.; Reno, Nev.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Urbana, Ill. The 2025 NCAA Regionals field will be announced on Wednesday, April 30 at noon central on the Golf Channel.
"You couldn't write a better way for Jonathan to end his career, winning medalist honors at his last conference tournament," Swafford said. "He's been a very valuable player for us his whole career and has been just as valuable off the course as an OVC Scholar-Athlete. For him to see everything come full circle and get a chance to play at a NCAA Regional as OVC Co-Medalist is quite special."
Gallery: (4-23-2025) Golf at OVC Championships (Day 4)
Jonathan Xoinis and Luke Caldwell each went 2-0 in match play on the day while Grant Phillips and Jackson Twerdahl added a victory against the Lions.
Against Lindenwood, Caldwell and Twerdahl each produced 4&3 wins while Phillips (2&1) and Xoinis (1Up through 14) also emerged victorious, leading to the program's second appearance in the OVC Championships match play finals in the four-year history of that format.
The Skyhawks challenged the No. 49 Trojans to the end of the finals. Caldwell won 4&2 and Xoinis claimed a 2Up (through 16) victory against his OVC Co-Medalist opponent. However, Little Rock came out on top of a pair of 1Up decisions to claim their second OVC title in the past three seasons.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team and how we handled ourselves this week," UT Martin head coach Austin Swafford said. "The five guys in our lineup gave it absolutely everything they had and we can't ask for any more than that. Little Rock is a very good team but we are too – our guys are walking out of here with their heads held high as they should be. They represented what we are about and I am so proud to be their head coach."
Xoinis will continue his career as the OVC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Regionals, which will take place on May 12-14. This year's NCAA Regional sites include Amherst, Va.; Auburn, Ala.; Bremerton, Wash.; Reno, Nev.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Urbana, Ill. The 2025 NCAA Regionals field will be announced on Wednesday, April 30 at noon central on the Golf Channel.
"You couldn't write a better way for Jonathan to end his career, winning medalist honors at his last conference tournament," Swafford said. "He's been a very valuable player for us his whole career and has been just as valuable off the course as an OVC Scholar-Athlete. For him to see everything come full circle and get a chance to play at a NCAA Regional as OVC Co-Medalist is quite special."
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