Fletcher Sholar, Photo Correspondent
Freshman Marie Eline Madsen hits putt at the 2025 ACC Championship, taking place in Greensboro at Sedgefield Country Club April 16-19. Madsen finished T11 in the tournament.
NC State women’s golf has its star heading into the season. In the next nine months, we’ll see how bright she shines.
Sophomore Marie Eline Madsen broke a plethora of records for NC State women’s golf in her freshman season, including the program’s lowest scoring average and becoming the first NC State women’s golfer to win an NCAA regional. And she only improved over the course of the season.
After falling short in some close finishes early in the year, she finally broke through on April 1 at the ECU Ironwood Invitational. A month later, she won the Charlottesville Regional to secure a spot in the national championship. But even after her rise, she is not content.
“I think it’s important to always see what to improve, so you don’t get caught up by your achievements,” Madsen said. “I try to focus on what’s next, and the most important thing for me is to get better, because I know that I’m not where I want to be right now.”
At the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California, she flew out of the gate. 12 holes into the tournament, she held the solo lead. Although she could not hang on to the blistering pace and finished at 82, her raw talent cannot be denied.
Madsen rose on the Amateur World Golf Ranking from No. 310 in Sept. 2024, to No. 51 at the conclusion of the collegiate season. With two top-10 finishes in the three European amateur events she played over the summer, Madsen now sits at No. 32 in the world.
“You get a player like that that has come so far, so fast and is ranked so high in the world, it challenges you as a coach as well,” Head Coach Darby Sligh said. “That makes it fun … [We] are finding ways that we can challenge her the same way the Danish national team is.”
The Wolfpack has its star, but with the departure of Lauren Olivares Leon, there will be big shoes to fill. Before Madsen broke through, Olivares was the ace. She amassed three career wins and still holds the NCAA record for single-round scoring after shooting 60 at the 2023 Cougar Classic.
Madsen at 71.23 shots per round and Olivares at 72.93 were a strong one-two punch last season, but the gap between two and three was too big for the Wolfpack to be competitive. Next in scoring average was then-sophomore Elise Rymer at 74.93, who is no longer with the team.
Now-senior Vania Simont finished fourth with a scoring average of 75.34. When Simont was on fire, she ignited the rest of the team, resulting in a win at the Daniel Island Invitational on Feb. 25 — its first since 2017. But her success was streaky, with only two top-20 finishes in 11 tournaments. The lone senior on the roster looks to find more consistency while being elevated into a mentorship role. The key for her: team environment.
“We had a really good environment, team-wise,” Simont said. “We were like, having fun. We were not just talking about golf after the rounds; everyone was doing what they had to do. Everyone was super prepared. So I think it was just like a really fun tournament, and we just did what we needed to do.”
From last year’s eight-person roster, just four remain with the departures of Olivares, Rymer, Caitlan Whitehead and Jaclyn Kenzel. Madsen and Simont remain, plus juniors Leena Stephens and Lea Ludwig.
Three freshmen will fill those gaps this season for the Pack — Ellie Hildreth, Lindsay McGrath and Elizabeth Sullivan.
Hildreth found tons of success on the course in her junior golf career, earning 23 top-10 finishes and winning the 2025 North Carolina Junior Girls Championship. But this is not her only role on the team. As a golf and lifestyle influencer posting daily, she has amassed nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram and 73,000 on TikTok, increasing exposure to NC State women’s golf.
“I’ve heard multiple stories in the last two weeks of places and people that are connected to NC State golf now because of Ellie Hildreth that would never have been connected before,” Sligh said.
Along with Hildreth, McGrath found success on the junior golf circuit, logging two wins and nine top-10 finishes on the AJGA tour. She also won the 2025 Ontario Women’s Amateur.
To start the season, the team will head to Yeamans Hall Club for the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, South Carolina, Sept. 8-9.