In its second match of the spring season, NC State women’s golf traveled to Sarasota, Florida to compete in the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational hosted by Michigan State. The Pack finished 12th place in the 15-team field with a score of 598 — 22-over par — 22 strokes behind first-place Ohio State.
NC State’s top individual player was senior Isabel Amezcua who finished in a tie for 30th at 4-over par. After shooting 5-over par in round one, Amezcua bounced back with a 1-under par second round. The highlight of her tournament was when she recorded an eagle on hole 14 in the second round. The senior was one of nine players to shoot an eagle in the tournament.
Not far behind Amezcua were junior Lauren Olivares Leon and freshman Ellise Rymer who both finished in a tie for 37th with scores of 5-over par.
Leon excelled on par 3s, finishing just 1-over on them for the tournament which put her in the top 15 on such holes. Where Leon will need to improve is on par 5s as she finished 1-over on them which put her near the bottom of the individual standings.
Rymer, on the other hand, found her success on par 4s where she finished 1-over on the weekend. Much like Leon, for Rymer to move up the leaderboard she will need to take advantage of par 5s as she shot 2-over on such holes.
To round out the Pack’s lineup were sophomore Vania Simont who placed in a tie for 45th at 8-over par and junior Caitlin Whitehead who finished T-72 with a score of 14-over par.
Although Simont finished in the middle of the pack, she was one of the most consistent players in the tournament. The sophomore holed 28 pars for the tournament which was tied for the most among the field. Not much went right for Whitehead, but she improved her score by four strokes from round one to round two.
As a team, the Wolfpack recorded its best scores on par 4s, finishing 18-over on them which put them fourth among the 15 schools. While excelling on par 4s, NC State struggled on par 3s and par 5s, placing near the bottom of the leaderboard on such holes. The inability to capitalize on these holes ultimately led to its disappointing 12th-place finish.
NC State will have almost a month to tune things up before its next tournament. The Pack is set to compete in the Briar’s Creek Invitational from March 11-12 in Johns Island, South Carolina.
