LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A historic week for NM State women's golf comes up just short of a tournament championship. After shooting the second-lowest round against par in school history on Tuesday, the Aggies were edged out by Pepperdine in Wednesday's final round.
NM State finished the 54 holes of the Golf Iconic Classic with an 863 on the scorecard. The final score for the tournament is the fourth-lowest in NM State history.
Both
Alison Gastelum and
Valentina Origel carded top-ten finishes at the Golf Iconic Classic. Gastelum, the newest WAC Golfer of the Month, picked up her third top-ten finish of the season. On the other hand, the top-ten finish was the first of Origel's career and second top 25 finish of the season.
In addition to a career-best sixth place finish, Origel fired a career-low 214 (-2) over the 54 holes. A 73 (+1) in Wednesday's final round was highlighted by a lengthy birdie putt on 18.
Four birdies powered
Kaylee Chen to lead NM State in Wednesday's final round. Chen shot a team-low 71 (-1) on Wednesday with an impressive stretch of two-under between holes 14 and 3, where she ended the round. The freshman from Denver, Colorado ended the tournament with her first career top 25 finish.
Emma Bunch played the NMSU Golf Course as expected on Wednesday, shooting an even 72 in the final round.
Arantza Armas Stenner and Origel both finished just one-shot above par at 73 to round out NM State's qualifying scores.
Marley Moncada,
Meiji Tungprapunvong, and
Alex Quihuis each played in the Golf Iconic Classic as individuals. Tungprapunvong carded a top 25 finish in the tournament to lead the trio.
Round Three Notes
- With their third consecutive top-five finish, NM State continues to shine on the golf course. The streak is the Aggies' longest since the beginning of the 2019-20 season when NM State opened with four straight top-five finishes.
- Valentina Origel finished the Golf Iconic Classic with a career-best sixth-place finish and shot a career-best 214 (-2).
- Origel's fourth-place finish was her first career top-ten finish.
- Alison Gastelum recorded her third consecutive top-ten finish to open the season.
- Gastelum was named the TicketSmarter WAC Women's Golfer of the Month during Wednesday's final round.
- Emma Bunch, Kaylee Chen, and Meiji Tungprapunvong each finished in the top 25 in Las Cruces. Bunch picked up her second top 25 finish of the season while Chen and Tungprapunvong both earned their first.
- Sarah Bell of Oral Roberts claimed the individual title, shooting 208 (-8) at the Golf Iconic Classic.
NM State Final Results
Team Final Results
| 1 |
Pepperdine |
859 (-5) |
| 2 |
NM State |
863 (-1) |
| 3 |
Long Beach State |
866 (+2) |
| 4 |
San Francisco |
868 (+4) |
| 5 |
Oral Roberts |
877 (+13) |
| 6 |
Cal Poly |
878 (+14) |
| 7 |
UTEP |
885 (+21) |
| 8 |
Campbell |
889 (+25) |
| 9 |
Southern Utah |
893 (+29) |
| 10 |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
901 (+37) |
| T11 |
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi |
902 (+38) |
|
UC - Riverside |
902 (+38) |
| 13 |
South Dakota State |
907 (+43) |
| 14 |
CSU - Bakersfield |
914 (+50) |
| 15 |
UT Arlington |
930 (+66) |
##NM State##
