The NC State women’s golf team finished fourth this weekend in Puerto Rico to start of its spring schedule.
The Pack competed in a three-round, 11-team tournament at Rio Mar Country Club under the 80-degree weather in Puerto Rico from Sunday to Tuesday.
The Lady Puerto Rico Classic had seven top-50 teams in the NCAA, including No. 4 Arkansas, which finished in first place, shooting 30 over par for the tournament.
After the first round on Sunday, Maria Fassi was leading the way for Arkansas and led all golfers at three under par. Arkansas was up by eight strokes after the first 18 holes. NC State sat comfortably in fifth place with both junior India Clyburn (73) and junior Laura Kowohl (73) tied for ninth at two over par. The Pack’s team score after round one was 299.
On Monday during round two, Clyburn was able to replicate her 73 from day one to move up to a tie for third on the leaderboards. All six NC State golfers were consistent from round one to round two, with no golfers straying from their first score by more than three strokes. With their round two score at 301, the consistency was enough to climb the standings past Texas Christian University into fourth place.
Fassi shot a 75 in round two, but was still good enough to keep the top spot and keep Arkansas in the lead by five strokes. NC State sat 14 strokes behind the leading team, and at 600 in total, going into Tuesday.
The final round on Tuesday did not change a lot for the top teams. The top four remained the same from round two meaning Arkansas (882, +30) finished first, followed by No. 26 Iowa State (892, +40), No. 22 Kent State (897, +45) and No. 43 NC State (904, +52).
Kowohl (220, +7) shot an NC State tournament-best 72 in the final round to jump into a tie for third and only four shots behind the leader, Fassi (216, +3). The previous leader for the Pack, Clyburn (224, +11), shot a 78 on day three dropping to tied for ninth.
The next three golfers for the pack finished within a shot of each other. Sophomore Mim Sangkapong (232, +19) and Naomi Ko (232, +19) finished tied for 32nd. Their teammates were close behind with senior Cecily Overbey (233, +20) finishing in a tie for 36th and redshirt junior Crystal Huang (237, +24) in a tie for 45th.
The Wolfpack will look to build on its spring opener Feb.18-20 in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the All-State Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship at English Turn Country Club.
