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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
Lieberwirth, Scott

Scott Lieberwirth


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2017 Conference USA Men’s Golf Coach of the Year

Scott Lieberwirth completed his eighth season as UTEP men’s golf head coach during the 2018-19 campaign. 

Lieberwirth, in 16 years as a collegiate head coach, has seven conference championships and seven NCAA Regional appearances. The Miners have won six tournaments during the Lieberwirth era, while he's also mentored eight All-Conference USA selections. Overall, Lieberwirth has directed his squads to 20 victories, while 28 All-Conference players have been selected under his guidance.
 
UTEP won the Pepsi-Cola Classic, firing a 9-under par (291-282-282—855) at the Red Hawk Golf Course on Oct. 21, while senior Aaron Terrazas's was named to the 2019 All-C-USA second team during the 2018-19 campaign. 

The Miners (287-298-293—878) finished in second place at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate and punched in another second-place finish at the Bearkat Invitational at 4-over par (295-285-286). The Orange and Blue registered a tied for third-place finish at the GCU Invitational, shooting 8-under par (281-282-281—844). 
 
Under Lieberwirth’s tutelage, Terrazas and sophomore Oskar Ambrosius produced career numbers and accomplishments during their respective seasons. 
 
Terrazas won his first collegiate championship after tying for first place at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. Terrazas followed with his first outright tournament win in the Pepsi-Cola Classic at Red Hawk Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M. He ran away from the field, firing a 15-under par and winning by a whopping 10 strokes. Terrazas was named the Conference USA co-Golfer of the Week Oct. 24 after his performance at the Pepsi-Cola Classic, while earning his second accolade as C-USA Golfer of the Week Feb. 27 after his outing at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawai’i. Terrazas fired a 7-under par, placing tied for fourth place at Wailua Municipal Golf Course.
 
Terrazas was named All-C-USA for a second time his career after recording a team-best 71.5 stroke average. 
 
Ambrosius, who made a huge stride from his freshman season, also chalked up his first collegiate triumph, claiming the title at the Bearkat Invitational at 7-under par. Ambrosius was named the C-USA Golfer of the Week on April 14 after his victory at Walden Lake Conroe Golf Club. Ambrosius finished tied for second at the Pepsi-Cola Classic, and placed sixth at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. Ambrosius fired a 5-under par, placing tied for seventh at the GCU Invitational. 
 
Ambrosius, sophomore Santiago Castilla, junior Eduardo Gonzalez and senior Settavut Paradee were named to the 2019 C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, while Gonzalez and Paradee were recognized as C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medalists (3.75 GPA or better). 

In his seventh season as UTEP men’s golf head coach, Lieberwirth mentored Conference USA second team honoree senior Charles Corner during the 2017-18 campaign. Corner advanced to the NCAA Regionals (May 14-16) in Stockton, Calif., and after firing a nine-under (69-69-69—207) to finish tied for third and a trip to the NCAA Championships (May 25-30) in Stillwater, Okla. It was the first time a Miner advanced to the NCAA Championships since 2004. To cap a great career with the Orange and Blue, Corner tied for 96th. During the 2017-18 campaign, Corner competed in 14 tournaments, placing as the top Miner in five of those tourneys, while tallying five top 10 finishes. Corner fired an eight-under (64-71-70—205) for a second-place showing at UTEP’s own the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational (Oct. 20-22). Corner was also named C-USA co-Golfer of the Week on Feb. 14, 2018 after shooting a two-over par, placing tied for third at the Arizona Intercollegiate.
 
The Miners as a team placed first at the Price’s Invite at Butterfield Trail Golf Club, firing a 13-under (275-283-281—839). Ricardo Catalan (-5) placed fourth, while junior Aaron Terrazas (-4) finished fifth. Redshirt Senior Prescott Mann shot three-under to place sixth.
 
Paradee, a junior during the 2017-18 season, and senior Nicklas Pihl each competed in all 12 regular-season tournaments. Pihl was the top UTEP finisher in three tournaments (William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, Bandon Dunes Championship), including the C-USA Championship in Texarkana, Ark., after a sixth-place showing. Paradee and Mann each shot four-under to finish as the top Miners at the Gene Miranda Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
Terrazas competed in 11 tournaments with one top 10 finish (Prices’ Invite) and two showings as the top Miner (Marquette Intercollegiate, Western Intercollegiate). Mann, after tying Paradee at the Gene Miranda as top finisher, had a fourth-place showing at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate after shooting a four-under for his second time as top finisher.
 
As a team, the Miners placed sixth (-10) out of 19 programs at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, third (-2) out of 12 teams at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, sixth out of 18 teams at the Arizona Intercollegiate, seventh (-7) out of 16 at the National Invitational Tournament and third (+7) out of 15 programs at the Lone Star Invitational.
 
Academics are a high standard for Lieberwirth’s squad as Corner was honored as the 2018 Golf Coaches Association of America Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, while also being the recipient of the 2018 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Award. Corner was also named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll for a fourth time. Paradee and Pihl were also honored as a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar.   
 
Other Miners recognized to the honor roll were Santiago Castilla, Eduardo Gonzalez, Paradee, Pihl and redshirt freshman Greg Yellin. Gonzalez and Paradee were also honored as C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medalists. 

Lieberwirth, in his sixth year at the helm in 2016-17, led the Miners to a Conference USA Championship and three tournament titles, while helping the Miners become a perennial contender in Conference USA and in all the tournaments they played. For his work, Lieberwirth was named the 2017 Conference USA Men’s Golf Coach of the Year.

The 2017 C-USA Championship marked the first title for the UTEP golf program since 1985 and only the second conference title in program history. The win ticketed the team (Frederik Dreier, Charles Corner, Aaron Terrazas, Andreas Sorensen and Nicklas Pihl) to the NCAA Regional for the first time since 2004, where they placed ninth, which brought an end to a historic season. The Miners finished in the top-10 in 12 of 13 tournaments while bringing home titles from the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic, and the Price’s “Give ‘Em Five” Invitational, becoming the first UTEP team to win its own tournament.

Under Lieberwirth’s helm, Dreier became the first Miner ever to be named the C-USA Golfer of the Year consecutively (2015-16, 2016-17) and only the third golfer in C-USA history to achieve such a feat. Chris Baryla (2004) was the last Miner to garner such an award, but only did it once. Dreier, who has consistently been a staple in the Miners’ lineup since he arrived in 2013, had a team leading and career-best 71.4 stroke average during his senior season. The Denmark native shot his collegiate-career low round of 64 in the final round of the Price’s “Give ‘Em Five” Invite and recorded six top finishes for the Miners’ scorecard. Dreier finished in a tie for seventh place in the stroke play portion of the C-USA championship and split his duels in the match play portion. His win in the finals against Charlotte’s John Gough (2UP) sealed the title for the Miners. Dreier, who earned his first career berth at an NCAA Regional in 2016, tied for 27th in his second trip this past season. Dreier was UTEP’s top finisher at eight of the 11 tournaments played during his senior season and recorded five top-10 showings, earning him a spot on the C-USA First Team list and PING All-Region honors on the Central Team list. He has also been rated among the top collegiate golfers in Europe, peaking at No. 4 on the Arnold Palmer Cup rankings.

After guiding him to immediate success during his freshman year, which concluded with a spot on the Conference USA All Freshman Team, Sorenson continued his triumph in Lieberwirth’s program. Sorensen improved his 73.8 stroke average to 73.1 during his sophomore year, ranking No. 4 on the team. Sorensen was the UTEP top finisher three times in the 2016-17 season, first at the Gene Miranda Invitational (2nd), the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate (T-22nd with Dreier), and at the Price’s “Give ‘Em Five” Invitational (2nd). Sorensen also recorded three top-10 finishes. 

Lieberwirth helped Charles Corner to a breakout season in 2016-17 that saw three finishes at the top of the UTEP scorecard and four top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments played. Corner’s prosperity began in the fall, where he had two top-ten finishes, but blew up in the spring season, most notably, at the prestigious Western Intercollegiate. The Canadian finished in eighth place after shooting 2-over 212 (72-69-71), better than 19 players ranked in the Golfstat Top 100, including six of the top-10 players. His effort helped the Miners finish in a tie for eighth place, beating out top contenders in then-No.17 ranked Texas, No. 25 Arizona State, and No. 32 San Diego State, and earned him his first-ever C-USA Golfer of the Week honor. The junior also had the third-best stroke average on the team with 72.6, which helped in his sixth place finish in the stroke play portion of the C-USA Championships, leading the team. Corner went 2-0 in his match play duels to help the Miners earn points on their way to the championship. To finish off his spectacular year, Corner led the UTEP squad at the NCAA Regional in Sammamish, Wash., with a share of 22nd and earned a spot on the C-USA Second Team list.

Building a strong core, Lieberwirth also brought in Oklahoma transfer Aaron Terrazas, who immediately made his way into the UTEP line-up. Terrazas arrived in the Sun City for the spring season, participating in seven tournaments and accumulating a 72.3 stroke average, the second-best on the team. Terrazas was the top finisher for UTEP in his second tournament played as a Miner when he finished in a tie for 26th at the John Burns Intercollegiate and then tied for the top UTEP spot with Dreier in sixth at the Lone Star Invitational. The Mexico native also played a role at the C-USA championship, finishing in a tie for 35th in the stroke play portion and splitting his match play duels. His dominance in conference play and in the spring earned him C-USA First Team honors.

Lieberwirth also led the Miners to several impressive feats during the 2015-16 season. He led the Orange and Blue to its first team title since 2005 by winning the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate by a whopping 17 strokes. Entering the final day of competition, the Miners held a six-stroke lead that would never be relinquished. UTEP was the only team to shoot under par during the final round and won the tournament at two-over par (284-288-282-854).

In 2015, Lieberwirth was the headpiece in a monumental change for Conference USA. Lieberwirth pushed for a similar format in the conference tournament that is used in the NCAA tournament. With the support of other league coaches, Lieberwirth helped make Conference USA become the first conference to adopt a match-play format to conclude its conference tournament. C-USA was the only conference in America in 2015 to have match play incorporated in its conference tournament. 

UTEP’s finish of third place (stroke wise) at the 2015 Conference USA Championships was the best placing in program history since the institution entered C-USA in 2006. The Miners fell in their semifinal match play event against No. 30 UAB by a tally of 3-2. 

Lieberwirth tutored Martin Simonsen to a stellar four-year career in the Orange and Blue. Simonsen advanced to three regionals during his tenure with the Miners. During his senior year, the Denmark native collected a career-low 71.8 strokes per round and was named a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar for the second year in a row. Adding to his success on the links, Simonsen was named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll thrice. 

Lieberwirth's first season as UTEP's head coach (2011-12) was highlighted by the emergence of Martin Simonsen, the Conference USA Freshman of the Year. Simonsen led the team in scoring average with a stellar 72.6 and earned a bid to NCAA Regionals after finishing fourth at the C-USA Championship. Simonsen was UTEP's top finisher in five of seven spring tournaments.

The Miners played their best golf at the end of the season, firing a season-low 865 at the Jim West Intercollegiate in early April to tie for third place. It marked UTEP's best team score in three years.

A five-time Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Lieberwirth directed the Aggies to league titles in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in eight years as head coach. 

Under Lieberwirth's guidance, NM State won 14 tournaments, had 20 All-Conference selections and the conference player of the year in 2006 (Matt Edwards), 2009 (Travis Reid) and 2010 (Tim Madigan).

Lieberwirth began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at NMSU in the fall of 2003. He was a self-employed professional golfer from 2000-03, firing a course record 61 (11-under par) at the Hooters Tour event in Kendallville, Ind.

The Carlsbad, N.M. native was a four-year letterman at NM State from 1996-2000. The 1999 Big West conference champion and 2000 Big West Conference MVP, he also participated in the 2000 NCAA West Regional as an individual. He won two titles and finished in the top-10 at 11 tournaments during his college career. He graduated with honors, receiving his bachelor's degree in Business Administration (Marketing). 

Lieberwirth was a Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Academic All-American.

Before attending NMSU, he played at Carlsbad High School, leading the Cavemen to the state championship in 1996. He won 15 tournaments at Carlsbad High and was named All-State on four occasions.

Lieberwirth and his wife, Heather, have a daughter, Rylie.