The NC State men’s golf team finished tied for eighth place out of 15 teams in the Puerto Rico Classic at the Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, while the women’s team finished a season-best sixth place out of 15 teams at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate in New Orleans last weekend.
Junior Easton Paxton led the way for the men’s team at tied for 21st, with a score of 3-under par. In a season-high finish, Paxton had his best round of the weekend in the first round with a score of 69.
Not far behind him at 2-under par was graduate Brett McLamb, who tied for 24th. McLamb opened up with 72 and finished the tournament with back-to-back scores of 71.
Next for the Wolfpack was senior Benjamin Shipp, who finished tied for 37th with a score of 1-over par. An opening round of 76 eliminated any thought of Shipp competing for a top-10 finish, as he did in the three tournaments prior to this one.
Senior Christian Salzer finished tied for 47th place at 5-over par, and freshman Carter Graf finished tied for 71st at 18-over par to round out the lineup for NC State.
Georgia Tech won the tournament with a team score of 32-under par. The Yellow Jackets took home the individual title as well, with Bartley Forrester finishing in first place at 9-under par.
Leading the way for the women’s team with a career-best finish at third place was senior Mim Sangkapong at 5-under par. Starting the tournament with scores of 68 and 71, Sangkapong found herself in a tie for the lead heading into the final round, but a score of 75 was not enough to secure the individual title.
Next for the Wolfpack was junior Monika Hartl, who finished tied for 17th at 1-under par. This was her third straight top-20 finish on the year.
In what was also a career-best finish, freshman Natalie Armbruester finished tied for 30th at 4-over par. A round of 78 cost her a top-20 finish, as she moved 15 spots down the leaderboard in the final round of competition.
Rounding out the Wolfpack lineup were freshman Pilar Berchot and sophomore Lea Klimentova, who finished tied for 55th place and tied for 58th place, respectively.
Florida secured the team title, shooting a team score of 23-under par. Clara Manzalini of Florida and Anna Backman of Miami tied for first at 7-under par for the individual title.
The Wolfpack women will be off for a couple of weeks before traveling to Kailua, Hawaii from March 9-11 to compete in the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course.
Men’s golf will be off a few weeks, then back in action from March 9-10 for the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The tournament will be hosted by Coastal Carolina University.
